Robert Long Pleads Not Guilty to 4 Murder Counts in Atlanta Spa Shooting

U.S.|Suspect successful Atlanta Spa Killings Pleads Not Guilty to 4 Counts of Murder

ATLANTA — A 22-year-old antheral pleaded not blameworthy connected Tuesday to 4 execution charges stemming from a shooting rampage astatine a drawstring of spas successful the Atlanta country past spring.

The man, Robert Aaron Long, had antecedently pleaded blameworthy to 4 execution charges successful adjacent Cherokee County, wherever the shooting spree began.

Mr. Long has said helium had a intersexual addiction and committed the killings to “punish” enactment manufacture workers, and admitted to the March 16 shootings soon aft his capture, according to instrumentality enforcement. His not blameworthy pleas, entered by his lawyer connected his behalf successful a downtown Atlanta courtroom during a little quality Tuesday morning, look to beryllium portion of an effort to prevention his life. Prosecutors person indicated they mean to question the decease penalty.

The sidesplitting spree astatine 3 spas successful March began successful suburban Cherokee County, extracurricular of Atlanta, wherever Mr. Long changeable 5 people, sidesplitting 4 of them. He pleaded blameworthy to those murders successful July and was sentenced to 4 consecutive beingness sentences without parole, positive an further 35 years.

It was a negotiated condemnation that allowed him to debar going to proceedings successful Cherokee County, wherever prosecutors said they would person pursued the decease penalty. Mr. Long present faces proceedings successful Fulton County for the 4 killings helium is accused of carrying retired astatine 2 spas successful Atlanta.

Fani T. Willis, the main authoritative for Fulton County, which covers overmuch of Atlanta, filed a announcement of intent to question the decease punishment successful May. After Mr. Long’s plea successful Cherokee County, she said that lawyers for Mr. Long had approached her bureau seeking a akin plea deal.

Though Ms. Willis, a Democrat, has said she is mostly unfastened to considering plea deals, she has indicated that she volition proceed to prosecute the decease punishment successful Mr. Long’s case, astatine slightest for now.

Ms. Willis’s bureau is besides seeking enhanced penalties for the Atlanta killings, arguing that the victims were targeted due to the fact that of their “actual oregon perceived race, nationalist origin, enactment and gender.” Mr. Long is white; six of the radical killed, including each of the Atlanta victims, were women of Asian descent.

It is 1 of the archetypal times prosecutors person deployed a Georgia hatred transgression instrumentality that was approved past twelvemonth by lawmakers successful effect to the sidesplitting of Ahmaud Arbery, an African American antheral who was fatally changeable aft helium was pursued by 3 achromatic men who suspected him of committing burglaries successful their vicinity extracurricular of Brunswick, Ga.

Those enhancements volition person nary worldly effect connected Mr. Long, a landscaping institution idiosyncratic who volition walk the remainder of his beingness successful situation adjacent if helium is not executed. The Fulton County indictment against Mr. Long includes 19 full counts, including charges of aggravated battle and home terrorism.

The willingness of Ms. Willis to question the decease punishment comes aft her declaration arsenic a campaigner for the prosecutor’s occupation successful 2020 that she could not “foresee” a case successful which she would question superior punishment.

Sean Keenan contributed reporting.