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In Swainsboro, Georgia, a demonstration took place on Monday, drawing attention to the conviction of a man involved in a shooting incident with law enforcement.
Last Friday, 24-year-old Me’elle Merrion was found guilty of aggravated assault, resulting in a 25-year sentence related to a September 2023 encounter with police. Just three days later, numerous supporters gathered outside the courthouse, voicing their dissent regarding the court’s ruling.
Participants in the protest shared with News 3 that Merrion had no prior criminal history and was known for his reserved demeanor. His mother, Tara Green, portrayed him as a humble individual who rarely initiated conversations.
“If you found yourself in a waiting room with him, like at a doctor’s office, you would have to be the one to start talking,” she explained.
According to Merrion’s family, during discussions on Monday and earlier, he was at his aunt’s home asleep after working a late shift. They explained that while he was sleeping, police executed a no-knock warrant aimed at his cousin due to drug-related suspicions, forcibly entering the residence.
However, a Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) news release reported that officers “attempted to execute a knock and announce drug search warrant.”
The family said during that moment, Merrion discharged a firearm, which hit an officer, who he believed to be an intruder.
His supporters stand by the statement that Officer Clay Young did not announce himself until after the door was breached.
Supporters also told they believed the sentence of 25 years, with at least 12 served, was too harsh for the situation and for someone who had no prior convictions.
They said they believe race may have played a factor in the decision and Monday’s protest was not just for Merrion but for others who may have suffered harsher penalties due to the color of their skin.
“Me’elle is just a vessel, there’s more to it,” Green said. “If we’re going to have a trial, we need to have a fair trial. That’s what we’re here for. Me’elle is the vessel, but we’re trying to carry it a little farther. We need it to be equality all the way around the board.”
Multiple speakers at the protest also criticized the trial’s presiding Judge Robert Reeves. Reeves “admitted the charge or admitted that evidence exists to prove 33 of the 58 charges of alleged misconduct” filed against him in September 2024, according to ’s sister station WJBF in Augusta.
The counts of misconduct that spanned seven of Reeves’s 17 years of judgeship mainly concerned “Reeves’s use of coarse, insensitive, demeaning, and/or insulting language, particularly with women,” the report said.
Reeves mutually agreed not to seek re-election when his term expires at the end of this year, according to a consent agreement signed in relation to those misconduct charges.
Green said she thinks the misconduct hasn’t stopped.
“The misconduct is still going on,” she said. “I had jurors reach out to me. These jurors reached out to me and didn’t know me, asked me, ‘Are you Me’elle’s mom? Are you related to Me’elle?’ They went from there.”
Green said three jurors reached out after the trial concluded and have begun speaking to Green’s lawyer to see if there were any issues during the trial worth pursuing.
“They’re willing to stand up and fight with me, talk to lawyers, talk to whoever to let them know the misconduct and the wrongfulness that was going on in that jury room, in that courtroom.”
On Monday, reached out to District Attorney Tripp Fitzner’s office, who prosecuted Merrion’s case, but did not receive a response.
Green also said Merrion’s legal team has already filed an appeal of the case.
will keep you updated as the story progresses.