Court Rejects Apalachee Shooter’s Appeal

The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously declined to hear Colt Gray’s bid for a new sentence, leaving the Apalachee High School shooter’s life-without-parole sentence in place.

The court denied his application Oct. 8, court documents show. Gray, now 16, pleaded guilty in July to all 55 charges in the Sept. 4, 2024, attack in Winder that killed teachers Cristina Irimie and Ricky Aspinwall and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo.

His attorneys argued the judge discounted evidence of abuse and neglect by his drug-addicted parents. The state countered that the sentence was reasonable given Gray’s actions before, during, and after the shooting.

Prosecutors had pointed to months of planning, including a notebook with sketches of the school. Gray’s father, Colin, is serving 15 years for his own role and has asked for a new trial.

  Early Voting Breaks Midterm Record

Georgians cast more than 2.4 million in-person early ballots before the final day of early voting, breaking the state’s midterm record.

As of Friday morning, 2,402,408 voters had voted early in person, topping the 2,289,951 cast in 2022. Another 111,372 absentee ballots had been accepted.

Mail voting has fallen by roughly half since the last midterm. As a result, overall turnout as a share of active voters is running about even with 2022.

Turnout has run higher in metro Atlanta and lower in rural counties. Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon described “two elections,” with Democrats leading early voting and Republicans leading on Election Day.

Georgia Takes Cocktail Party to Atlanta

No. 3 Georgia takes the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party indoors today, facing No. 17 Florida at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the first meeting outside Jacksonville since 1995.

Coming off a bye following a home loss to Auburn, Georgia looks to avoid its first back-to-back regular-season losses since Kirby Smart’s debut season in 2016. Ball security remains a concern: the Bulldogs have fumbled six times in their past two games.

Florida will counter with Bogart native Aaron Philo, who returns from a shoulder injury to start at quarterback. Philo holds Georgia’s high school record for career passing yards, set at Prince Avenue Christian, less than 14 miles from Sanford Stadium.

The Bulldogs have won five straight meetings and lead the all-time series 58-44-2.

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➤ Canton: Cherokee County Schools Superintendent Mary Elizabeth Davis said suspects in the alleged Cherokee High School shooting plot never accessed the school’s protected floor plans, as warrants had suggested. Police told her the suspects had only publicly available images. (More)

➤ Statewide: The Department of Corrections locked down more than two dozen state prisons after four inmates got into a gang-related fight Tuesday at Hays State Prison in Chattooga County, citing fears of retaliation. The lockdown continues until further notice. (More)

➤ Atlanta: Officers shot and killed a driver who rammed a patrol car Thursday on Joseph E. Boone Boulevard as police tried to serve a domestic violence warrant. The driver wasn’t the wanted suspect, who ran and remains at large, and the GBI is investigating. (More)

➤ Fayette County: QTS Data Centers and Georgia Power launched a $14 million program to fund pre-weatherization repairs, such as fixing structural and safety problems, for more than 800 eligible households. (More)

➤ Atlanta: Hartsfield-Jackson ranked fifth of 122 U.S. airports for avoiding major flight disruptions in a ConsumerAffairs study, with about 1.24% of departures canceled and 1.25% delayed more than three hours. (More)

➤ McIntosh County: A GoFundMe is helping Capt. Jamey Bennett after a Monday night fire destroyed Miss Kristin, the shrimp boat he ran for about seven years, at the Sea Gardens dock. Bennett said he hopes to buy another boat and get back to work. (More)

➤ Thomasville: The city won a $1 million Community Development Block Grant from the state Department of Community Affairs to build a new domestic violence shelter for Halcyon Home. (More)

The Georgia Flyover exists to call things what they are, fairly and objectively. We keep the spin out and trust you with the facts. So today we’re asking: if news that calls things what they are is something you want to see thrive, will you stand behind it? Support the news in plain words. Free, every morning. Will you make a generous donation to support The Georgia Flyover?

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➤ The Atlanta Braves exercised 2027 club options on Ronald Acuña Jr. ($17 million) and Ozzie Albies ($7 million). Acuña, the 2023 NL MVP, hit .255 with 20 homers in 107 games this past season, and Albies can become a free agent after next season. (More)

➤ The Atlanta Hawks (3-3) visit the New Orleans Pelicans (1-4) at 7 p.m. tonight, with Mouhamed Gueye out with a foot injury and Henri Veesaar out for the season. (See Preview)

➤ June Jones, who coached the Falcons from 1994-96 and led them to the 1995 playoffs with his run-and-shoot offense, died Thursday at 73, the Falcons announced Thursday. Jones later became Hawaii’s winningest coach, guiding the 2007 team to a 12-0 regular season and the Sugar Bowl. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: NCAAF | NHL | NBA | Soccer | Golf

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➤ A single adult with no children must earn $27.32 an hour to cover basic expenses in Gwinnett County, the highest among metro Atlanta’s five core counties, according to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator. Clayton County was lowest at $23.79. (More)

➤ Staff at Augusta’s Wellstar Golisano Children’s Hospital of Georgia dressed up, decorated booths, and lined the hallways Friday so young patients could trick-or-treat through the hospital. (More)

➤ Disney On Ice brings Frozen and Encanto to the Macon Coliseum this weekend, with shows at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. today and 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday. (See Schedule)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes, straight from the heart of the country. 

➤ What are the seven dirtiest things in your home? Hint: the toilet doesn’t make the list. (Hear List)

➤ Election season may take a measurable toll on your heart, researchers say, no matter which party wins. (Listen Now)

➤ New research is challenging centuries of scholarly doubt over a nearly 2,000-year-old non-Christian account of Jesus. (Podcast Available)

Game day!

Will you hand out candy tonight?

1. Yes, the porch light’s on
2. No, lights off
3. Headed out instead

Yesterday’s Results:

What’s your favorite B-52s song?

1. Love Shack: 74%
2. Roam: 9%
3. Other: 9%
4. Rock Lobster: 8%

Juliette Gordon Low started the first troop of what became the Girl Scouts in Savannah in 1912. What was the group originally called?

Show me the answer