Dad of Georgia school shooting suspect asks for separation from other inmates

globalnews.ca:

Lawyers for Colin Gray, the father of suspected Georgia school shooter Colt Gray, have asked for special jail protections amid an “incalculable number of threats” from other inmates.

Colin, 54, was last week charged with suspicion of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children. He was arrested one day after his 14-year-old son was accused of killing four people during a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., about an hour’s drive from Atlanta.

Investigators allege Colin “knowingly” allowed his son access to the military-style rifle used in the shooting.

On Wednesday, Colin’s lawyers asked a judge in the Barrow County Superior Court to separate their client from other inmates in jail.

Colin’s legal team said inmates have threatened “harm and violence” against him, and in some cases, death. The threats have been made thanks to widespread news and social media coverage of the shooting, they maintained.

“It is not an unreasonable statement to declare that nearly every member of this community has been touched and affected in some way by this event,” the motion reads, as obtained by Global News.

“It is certain that those feelings of anger and retribution manifested in the collective psyche, of both the public and the community at large, are not also represented in the individuals currently incarcerated with the Defendant at the Barrow County Detention Center.”

Colin’s lawyers argued it would be “reckless” to assume there are no inmates who wish him harm.

Both Colin and his son are being held without bond.

If convicted on all counts, Colin could face a maximum prison sentence of 180 years.

The charges against Colin are the most severe ever imposed on the parent of a suspected school