GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A mother feels a sense of closure after Gwinnett County prosecutors helped her seek answers for her son's 2020 murder. The district attorney said families like this one have been the fuel to clear cases that have been lingering for too long.
The Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office is on a roll in trying cases, helping families who are seeking answers and justice. DA Patsy Austin-Gatson, who was elected in 2021, said her office has tried 63 jury trials this year and has significantly increased its conviction rate.
On Thursday, the office expressed how Jair Alejandro Ramirez isn't the only case prosecutors had been working on - but is an example of how the office's new initiatives and approach can help the people they were called to serve.
Ramirez was 35 and a father of two children. He was shot dead during the 2020 Fourth of July weekend at the Fusion Event Hall in Norcross. Ramirez was involved in an argument with his convicted killer that led to gunfire. For years, his mother has been waiting for someone to answer to his death.
"A mother could be 100 years old and the son could be 80 but those are ties that can never be broken," his mother Benita Yolanda Iturbe said in Spanish.
Austin-Gatson expressed that the humanity behind the cases is what encourages her office to continue its work, touting an 80% conviction rate. However, her tenure came with growing pains.
She replaced a 28-year incumbent, saying the office went through a "grieving process" as she assumed her new role.
"When I took over, there were a lot of people who were still from that regime, so it was a death," she explained. "I gave people a decision to go where they wanted, some stayed and others decided to leave."
So she rebuilt her team in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic and inherited a caseload.
"That includes attorneys, victims, witnesses, investigators - I have built this office up," Gwinnett County's top attorney said. "We have really worked hard, we've done the training, made sure they're (assistant district attorneys) rightly compensated compared to other jurisdictions."
Courtney Randle, whose sister was murdered in 2018, said she noticed the change when Austin-Gatson took office.
Randle, who found her sister dead in her Lawrenceville home, said she has been waiting for years for any news on the case.
"We found out who it was weeks later," Randle said, recalling the gruesome discovery in 2018. "The conviction was done this year - 2023. Really didn't find relief until he was found guilty."
Austin-Gatson said it was because working through the pandemic backlog was a priority, adding that last year's cases were "still sort of lagging with COVID."
"Our office has been very prominent in trying to keep our community safe," Austin-Gatson said.
Beyond getting convictions in murder cases, the office's drug and gang task force is also at a nearly 90% conviction rate.
But Austin-Gatson said her office doesn't just work in the courtroom.
To further get into the community, the office plans to introduce a citizen's academy for adults who want a closer look at what prosecutors do in the county. The nine-week program is expected to launch in October.
The DA is also touting initiatives she started under her tenure, adding that its partnership with high schools and its Ryzer Program is creating better community connections.
To help curb crime among youth, Austin-Gatson reminds people that its Rehabilitation Enable Dreams (RED) program helps young offenders who have had non-violent encounters with the law is a growing initiative. Students in the program are matched with mentors and learn life skills in a classroom atmosphere, reminding people that everyone deserves a second chance.