Judge Stephen Yekel, 74, was found dead on Tuesday in his own courtroom

Summary

Judge Stephen Yekel, 74, died by suicide in his courtroom on his last day in office after losing a re-election bid.

He was found Tuesday morning at Effingham County State Courthouse, with investigators believing the incident occurred late Monday or early Tuesday.

Yekel, appointed in 2022, had recently attempted to resign but was denied by Governor Brian Kemp.

He was also facing a wrongful termination lawsuit from a former court employee.

  • Flying Squid
    -42•5 days ago

    I literally said the word “maybe” and ended it with a question mark and you’ve decided I want to silence people. Amazing.

    All I was hoping for was people being a little tactful about a goddamn suicide, but I guess suggesting that doing that would be nicer is NAZI CENSORSHIP.

    Editing this into all of my posts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines

    • @JTskulkEnglish
      18•5 days ago

      I’ll answer your question then: No.

      • @Hobbes_Dent
        9•5 days ago

        Then accept that it’s as dickish as these comments.

        This thread is fucked up. I hope nobody here has to think back to it one day and wonder if their loved one deserved to be made fun of even if they did wrong in life.

      • Flying Squid
        -24•5 days ago

        Well I’m sorry that you and others lack the small amount of empathy it takes to have the tact to not make fun of someone who literally just killed themselves.

        But silly me, suicide his hilarious, do continue. I’m sure whatever he did was totally deserving of death and his wife and four kids will see the funny side. And if they don’t, fuck their feelings.

        Editing this into all of my posts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines

          • Flying Squid
            -9•5 days ago

            Yes, being on the internet totally excuses a lack of empathy and a tacit approval of suicide during a time of year where depression is at a height. Because there’s nothing someone on the edge needs more right now than to see a bunch of people mocking someone who just died, confirming to them how worthless human life is and how no one will miss them either. Ask me how I know this, go ahead.

            Editing this into all of my posts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines

            • @[email protected]
              4•5 days ago

              Yeah, I remember back in the day, when the internet was free. It was lawless, but there were so many great things to see too.

              Then a bunch of pussies noticed all the fun we were having, and they gave away all that freedom to the governments and corpos, asking them to build in blocking features and filtering horseshit, so that they didn’t accidentally see an image or idea that they didn’t already have predefined in their head.

              Just completely destroyed something that was once so beautifully free, just because they were too much an imbecile and coward to face different ideas.

              Sad really.

    • @KrudlerEnglish
      10•5 days ago

      Maybe take a look at those big feels of yours.

    • @MutilationWave
      2•5 days ago

      NAZI CENSORSHIP

      ? I’m just happy a judge died.

      • Flying Squid
        -2•5 days ago

        As I asked someone else, would you be happy if a judge was raped?

        And I said that because I was accused of trying to censor people by daring to suggest that maybe wait until the body is cold before making jokes. Turns out, based on an article someone else pasted, his wife ruined them financially, which could be a motive for the suicide rather than anything nefarious he may have done. Why is that a thing to be happy about, someone killing themselves because their spouse destroyed their future just because of their profession?

        Also, are you suggesting we do away with judges? What would be the alternative?

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines