Jurors find 11 former Atlanta Public Schools educators guilty of racketeering charges

• Joeff Davis
• Attorney Akil Secret, who represented defendant Tabeeka Jordan in the APS trial, addresses reporters after his client was found guilty this afternoon. Jordan, a former assistant principal at Deerwood Elementary school, was convicted of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

After years of investigation, months inside a courtroom, and more than a week of deliberation, nearly a dozen former Atlanta Public Schools educators standing trial for their roles in the public school system’s massive cheating scandal were found guilty of racketeering plus several other charges.

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Around 2 p.m. this afternoon, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter, reading the jury’s full verdict this afternoon, said that 11 former APS employees — Sharon Davis-Williams, Tamara Cotman, Michael Pitts, Dana Evans, Angela Williamson, Shani Robinson, Pamela Cleveland, Diane Buckner-Webb, Tabeeka Jordan, Donald Bullock, Theresia Copeland — had been found guilty of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act. Ten of the co-defendants were convicted of additional lesser charges including theft by taking, influencing witnesses, false swearing, and false statements. Dessa Curb, a former teacher at Dobbs Elementary, was the lone defendant cleared of all charges.

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The end of the APS trial, which first started last September, brings closure to a cheating scandal that rocked the school system, cast a shadow on the city, and offered a textbook example of high-stakes testing gone wrong to other school districts nationwide.

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Former APS Superintendent Beverly Hall, who received praise throughout her 11-year tenure for making major strides in improving classroom performance, resigned in November 2010. In July 2011, state investigators reported 178 educators at 44 elementary and middle schools had engaged in systemic cheating. The test score scandal occurred amid what the report described as a “culture of fear and a conspiracy of silence” that deterred educators from speaking out against those involved.

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Fulton County prosecutors then spent two years building a case that eventually led to a 65-count indictment of 35 educators on charges including a violation of the RICO Act, theft by taking, influencing witnesses, conspiracy, and false statements. Prior to the 12-defendant trial, 21 other educators struck plea deals while two educators, including Hall, died from cancer.

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Hall had faced multiple charges for violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, false statements and writings, false swearing, and theft by taking. According to Hall’s lawyer Richard Deane, she had denied any wrongdoing “to her dying breath.” The remaining 12 educators who opted for a jury trial passed up potential plea deals.

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After reading the verdict today, Baxter ordered the 11 educators found guilty to head to prison, drawing outrage from several defense attorneys. Gerald Griggs, an attorney for Dobbs Elementary teacher Angela Williamson, blasted the judge’s “appalling decision” to imprison her prior to sentencing, given her community ties and lack of a prior record. Despite pleas to let the defendants walk free on an appeal bond until sentencing, which is scheduled for next Wednesday, Baxter refused their requests and ordered bailiffs to place handcuffs on the convicted former educators.

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“They have made their bed and they’re going to have to lie in it,” Baxter told the courtroom.

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Curb, who was visibly emotional and short on words, briefly said she was thankful for her attorney’s representation, though upset about the outcome for her co-defendants. “I prayed and I believed that this would be my outcome,” she said just outside the courtroom.

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Once the courtroom cleared out, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said he hoped the verdict would lead to a “reexamination of our public schools’ educational process.” He also called for children deprived of a quality education by the cheating scandal to be given adequate resources needed to catch up in the classroom.

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“Our entire effort in this case was to simply get our community to stop and take a look at our educational system,” Howard said. “That’s what we wanted. We wanted people to look at our educational system that their children attended everyday, to make some assessment, and look to see what we as a community had to do to as a community to move forward.”

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Outside the Fulton County Courthouse, numerous defense attorneys expressed their disappointment with the jury’s decision. Akil Secret, an attorney speaking on behalf of former Deerwood Elementary Assistant Principal Tabeeka Jordan, accused Baxter of making “veiled threats” about his tough treatment of defendants for their decisions to stand trial.

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George Lawson, and attorney representing former APS SRT Director Michael Pitts, said his client was unfairly convicted based on the testimony of “repeated liars,” referring to other APS employees who agreed to plea deals in exchange for their cooperation, and insufficient evidence.

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“Was I still in America?,” Lawson replied when asked about his initial response to the ruling. “Americans don’t do this kind of justice, or the absence thereof. These are educators.”

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Multiple attorneys told reporters that they planned to file for an appeal bond before the week’s end. If granted, the former educators would be able to stay out of prison during the appeal process.