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Updated: 8:05 PM Jan 26, 2012
First on 12: Superintendent says Hancock grand juror works for school board
It all started last October. A post-game brawl broke out in Hancock County. A grand jury says no one should face criminal charges for it, but the fight for one party isn't over.
Posted: 7:05 PM Jan 26, 2012Reporter: Chad Mills Email Address: chad.mills@wrdw.com |
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News 12 at 6 o'clock / Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012
SPARTA, Ga. -- Justice has been served, but Warren County Schools Superintendent Carole Jean Carey isn't satisfied.
"My confidence in that particular grand jury is totally out of the window," she told News 12.
Here are links to News 12's coverage of the post-game brawl:
- Warren Co. superintendent to file charges after watching attack on football coach, players
- Warren Co. team, coach try to put fight behind them to prepare for homecoming game
- Warren County's healing head coach returns to stadium for emotional game
- Documents released about fight that injured Warren football coach
- Special Assignment: Serious allegations raised by county after football brawl
- Tense scene for media at meeting for healing after Hancock Co. football brawl
- No indictments handed down for post-game football brawl
That's all because of what she found out this morning.
Carey says Regina F. Butts, the chair of the grand jury, is an employee of the Hancock County Board of Education.
"We decided that no indictment to be returned against anyone," said Butts on Wednesday night, reading from the grand jury presentment.
On the state website Georgia Transparency, a Regina F. Butts shows up as the "family service coordinator" for the Hancock County BOE. The Hancock County BOE website lists her as an employee, too.
"It just does seem a little bit awkward that a member of the school system staff would be the one leading the discussion in this incident. How fair can that be?" Carey asked.
Butts could not be reached for comment.
Now, Carey's hearing other jurors either work or have kin working there as well.
"The way I see it through my eyes is through the GBI report," said Hancock County Sheriff Tomyln Primus during a news conference on Wednesday.
He and others say no indictments could be drawn from the GBI investigation. We asked the sheriff if he only considered witness statements of Hancock County players.
"The testimony of Hancock players and Warren County players," he shot back.
"Did Warren County players agree with Hancock County players anywhere in the report?" we asked him.
"To a certain extent," Primus answered.
We asked him to explain specifics, but he declined to go into detail.
"The GBI investigation has the evidence from both sides, and as we've said from the beginning, our stories are markedly different," Carey said.
We asked District Attorney Fred Bright if there were, in fact, two distinct sides to the story presented in the GBI report, and he bluntly affirmed it.
He told News 12 that a possible position with the BOE wouldn't legally disqualify Butts, but he says the grand jurors would have disqualified themselves if they couldn't decide fairly.
Of course, some Hancock County testimony actually accused Warren County Coach David Daniel of instigating the fight. Carey said that was false.
She did not show up to testify Wednesday. Primus says that's because she knows she's a liar, and Carey is firing back at that comment. She wants an unbiased polygrapher to perform a lie detector test on both of them in a public place and in front of our cameras. No word yet on if that will ever happen.
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