The family of Secoriea Turner, an 8-year-old girl killed during civil unrest in Atlanta in 2020, is urging Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson to stop using her name and image in campaign materials, calling the ads “deeply hurtful.”
Secoriea Turner was fatally shot in 2020 while riding in a vehicle near a Wendy’s where a man had been killed earlier by police. The fast food restaurant became a site for demonstrations against police brutality during Keisha Lance Bottoms’ tenure as Atlanta mayor. Jackson has used photos and news coverage of the event as part of his campaign rhetoric, arguing that Bottoms failed to keep Atlanta residents safe.
Last week, Secoriea’s mother, Charmaine Turner, publicly urged Jackson to stop using her daughter’s name and image in campaign materials and sent his campaign a cease and desist letter. However, attorneys representing Turner’s family said the campaign doubled down, releasing a new attack ad featuring Charmaine’s screams as she called 911 after Secoriea was shot.
“Today we stand making it very, very clear that Secoriea Turner, that her death, that her image, that who she was as a beautiful 8-year-old, is not a part of any campaign property,” attorney Mawuli Mel Davis said during a press conference. “She should not be part of any political or campaign stunt. This is real pain.”
Turner’s mother declined to attend the press conference but said in a statement provided through her attorneys that she would continue to fight for her daughter. In 2021, she filed a lawsuit against Bottoms and the city of Atlanta over their handling of the protests, which is still pending.
In a statement released ahead of the press conference, Jackson campaign spokesperson Garrison Douglas defended the use of Turner’s story in the campaign ads. “We cannot imagine the immense pain the Turner family has gone through,” he said. “They are not a political talking point. They are one of the major reasons why Rick is running – so that another family does not have to experience such a devastating tragedy as a result of Keisha Lance Bottoms’ abdication of her duty.”
Shean Williams, another attorney representing the Turner family, condemned the campaign ads as “morally irresponsible,” adding that Jackson never attempted to contact the Turner family before using Secoriea’s image. “If it’s not a political point and he really cares about Secoriea Turner, her legacy, her image, then why hasn’t he even reached out before today, before he ran for governor?” he said. “It tells me it’s a political talking point because this is all political.”
