Who is Sheneka Terry? Meet first Black woman sworn in to lead Muscogee DA’s office
The six-county judicial circuit based in Columbus has its first Black woman leading the district attorney’s office as Sheneka Jones Terry was sworn in Wednesday as acting DA.
Terry, 36, will continue as acting district attorney pending the outcome of suspended DA Mark Jones’ anticipated trial on felony charges that include trying to bribe two employees and trying to influence witnesses in two Columbus homicide cases.
Terry had been on maternity leave since July 21, but cut that short Tuesday to return to Columbus from Mississippi, where her family lives, to take charge of the DA’s office. Judge Gil McBride, chief judge of the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit, swore her in Wednesday morning.
Terry vowed to get the office back on track, filling seven vacancies among 29 staff attorneys and prioritizing murder cases.
“Right now, I think our focus should be on the community,” she said after the ceremony in Judge McBride’s Government Center courtroom. “As we’re all aware, we’ve had a lot of homicides this year, so I don’t think we have time to focus on anything else, except assisting the community in resolving the murder cases, and making sure that people get their day in court.”
Columbus so far this year has had 55 homicides, an apparent record outpacing a peak of 46 in 2020.
Terry met with her staff Tuesday evening, as soon as she got back from leave, she said.
“My biggest concern with the staff was ensuring that everybody remain focused on the mission at hand,” she said. “As I said before, the mission is getting into court, making sure that the citizens remain confident in the system, in the DA’s office, and ensuring that we’re bringing those older cases to trial as quickly as possible.”
She has not decided yet on choosing a chief assistant district attorney to fill the position to which Jones appointed her when he took office in January. “It’s something that I’m still thinking about,” she said.
If Jones is acquitted of the charges against him, he may return to office. If he’s convicted, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp may appoint an interim DA to serve out the rest of Jones’ term, which ends in 2024.
A military tradition
Terry was born the youngest of four daughters, and her family still gets together regularly online to stay in touch, she said.
“I’m the child of military parents. My Mom was stationed in Mississippi for the majority of her career,” Terry said, so that’s where she grew up and went to school.
She got her undergraduate degree from the University of Southern Mississippi before going to the Mississippi School of Law and then joining the military. She remains a member of the Judge Advocate General Corps that represents service personnel and the Georgia Army National Guard, currently assigned to the 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade at Fort Benning.
Former District Attorney Julia Slater hired her in 2017 to handle cases in Harris County, before bringing Terry to Columbus to handle violent crimes in Muscogee County. For six months she was away on deployment to Kosovo with the National Guard, but continued to work here upon her return, she said.
Jones chose her as his chief assistant after defeating Slater in last year’s Democratic Primary. He faced no opposition in the November General Election.
Her military training is an asset, under trying circumstances, she said: “There is a certain calm that comes with Army training. There’s a certain ability to adapt and maneuver as need be, to what can seem like a chaotic situation. There’s also an ability to calm others in that same situation.”
Court officials said the district attorney’s position has not been vacated mid-term since then-DA Doug Pullen was appointed a Superior Court judge in 1995. His chief assistant, Gray Conger, succeeded Pullen, and was elected and re-elected until he lost to Slater in 2008. The first woman to hold the office, Slater was re-elected until Jones defeated her last year.
This story was originally published October 6, 2021 at 2:44 PM.