The judge overseeing the massive cheating case against former Atlanta educators has postponed the trial after hearing testimony from doctors that retired Superintendent Beverly Hall is gravely ill.
Hall, who was indicted last year on charges that she conspired to make student performance on state tests look better than it was, has cancer. Her doctor testified yesterday that going to trial in May, as originally scheduled, would put her life at risk, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. An oncologist hired by state prosecutors told the court that Hall, because of her illness, should be tried right away.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter agreed to push the trial to August. Hall and 12 other educators have pleaded innocent to the charges, while 21 others struck plea deals.
Joseph Lowery and Andrew Young—two iconic civil rights leaders—showed up to the hearing, according to the AJC, to support Hall. Young, who is a former mayor of Atlanta, spoke out during the hearing, asking the judge to have mercy on Hall.
Friends and family members of Hall established a legal defense fund to help the former national superintendent of the year to cover her legal expenses.