Muscogee County and the State of Georgia are Being Sued for Violating Rights Provided Under Marsy’s Law
Communication is key and nothing could be truer during a criminal investigation. Civil Rights Attorney Kianna Chennault of Atlanta has been hired by the family of Richard Collier to prosecute Muscogee County and the state of Georgia due to a “lack of communication from prosecutors.” Seven years ago, Collier was killed at a house
party in Columbus, Georgia. The suspect, Drevon Johnson, received a deadlock verdict in his first trial in 2019.
Chennault, the Collier family’s due process rights were violated under Marsy’s Law. “One of the main rights that a crime victim has is communication,” Chennault said. Dawn Boyd, Collier’s mother agrees, “You saw that trial just happened quick, and it was like, yeah, this could happen, and then all of a sudden, I couldn’t even get in touch with the attorney general.” The lack of communication between the prosecutors and the victim’s family led to mistrust and confusion. Chennault states the family “would like victims to never have to go through this again.”
Johnson was set to go on trial again in November of 2022 but, instead, he pled guilty to murdering Richard Collier in 2016. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with 10 more on probation. The Collier family is not pleased with this outcome because Johnson’s six years behind bars waiting for this trial earned him to time served.
However, with Johnson behind bars for the time being, the process of closure began for the Collier family. “Now we don’t have to focus anymore on the defendant, and we can focus more on Richard’s life and celebrating it,” says Boyd.
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