JONESBORO — Authorities are investigating death threats made to families after the conviction and sentencing of a woman for the 2019 fatal shooting of a man who left the scene of a Clayton County crash.
After Hannah Payne’s sentencing Friday to life with the possibility of parole by Clayton County Superior Court Judge Jewel Scott, Clayton County County District Attorney Tasha Mosley said both the families of the victim, Kenneth Herring, and Payne have received online death threats.
“I plead to the public — we have seen the statements that are on social media,” Mosley said. “I ask that you do not threaten either family. It’s a tragedy all the way around. Justice has been served. The jury found Miss Payne guilty so please do not threaten the Herring family or the Payne family. Both families are still grieving. Let them grieve in peace without you threatening them. I beg of you to those who have been online and sending those threats — please stop.”
Mosley also said that the threats are being investigated.
“If they get them, we will prosecute them,” Mosley said. “This is enough. These families have been through enough.”
Scott also sentenced Payne to an additional 13 years — eight to be served consecutively — for false imprisonment and five consecutively for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
A Clayton County jury returned a guilty verdict on Dec. 13 on two counts of felony murder, one count of malice murder, one count of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment, and three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Payne was accused of following and fatally shooting Kenneth Herring, 62, after he left the scene of a Clayton County traffic accident in 2019.
“Though this conviction will not bring Mr. Herring back, we hope his loved ones can rest easier…
Read the full article here
