Checotah Family Fights Against Parole Of Man Who Killed Brother In Poisoning Death

A Checotah woman is fighting the parole of the man convicted in the poisoning death of her brother.

Danny Turner stole potassium cyanide from a school chemistry lab, mixed it in a drink and gave it to Jerry Don Hurst in 1991, killing him.

Jerry Don Hurst's sister Delicia Hurst says she is reminded of the pain of losing her brother every time she has to give a victim impact statement at a parole hearing.

"Now it's getting to where I don't remember my brothers' voice, I don't remember the sound of his laugh, and that is just very hurtful," she said.

Danny Turner was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for murdering Jerry Don Hurst in 1991.

Delicia says they've been fighting Turner's parole about every three years for the past 20 years.

The most recent parole hearing was scheduled for Monday, but she got a call Friday afternoon that it's now been moved to December.

"If you don't protest, if the victims don't protest or their families don't then that's an indication that there's no one concerned about them being let out," she said.

She says her family is prepared for Turner to be released from prison eventually, but it's important to them that he serves the maximum amount of time, especially to her mom.

"I just think she needs a few more years of the peace that she's felt, and safety and security, even if it's three to five years, it's better than right now," she said.

She says while this does take an emotional toll on her, she says it's important to her to be a voice for her brother and to never stop fighting for him.

"It's not just the death of my brother, it's the lost memories, it's the lost relationships, I think of him as a 19-year-old guy, I don't know what he would be like at 50," she said.

The parole hearing is now set for December 6th.