Experience Matters

Experienced Lawyer for Your Legal Needs

Shaun Yurtkuran has built a legal career shaped by integrity, courtroom experience, and high-stakes prosecutions that drew statewide and even national attention. From complex capital murder trials to white-collar fraud and judicial interference scandals, Shaun has been on the front lines of Mississippi’s criminal justice system—both as a prosecutor, defense attorney and as a trusted legal analyst.

One of Shaun’s most well-known prosecutions involved the 2007 murder of Jackson State University student Latasha Norman. Shaun led the trial team that secured a capital murder conviction against Stanley Cole, Norman’s ex-boyfriend, who was sentenced to life in prison.
The case drew national headlines due to its tragic nature and intense public scrutiny. Shaun appears in Season 2 of Hulu’s acclaimed true crime series Death in the Dorms, in the episode titled “Latasha.”

In one of Jackson's most emotionally charged cases of 2025, Shaun Yurtkuran served as the lead defense attorney for Keyonte Charleston, a Jackson resident charged with capital murder and related felony offenses following a tragic home invasion in August 2023.
Shaun Yurtkuran led Charleston’s defense, aggressively contesting the prosecution’s evidence. Ultimately, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on any charge.

Shaun served as lead prosecutor in the 2013 capital murder trial of James Cobb Hutto III, who was convicted of brutally murdering 81-year-old Ethel Winstead-Simpson in Clinton, Mississippi. The case involved chilling surveillance footage, robbery evidence, and forensic testimony.
After Hutto was sentenced to death, he pursued numerous appeals, all of which were denied—including a final rejection by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025.

Criminal defense attorney Shaun Yurtkuran appears in Season 2 of Hulu’s acclaimed true crime series Death in the Dorms, in the episode titled “Latasha.”
At the time of the case, Shaun served as the lead prosecutor in the investigation and trial surrounding the murder of Latasha Norman, a Jackson State University student whose disappearance drew national attention. On the show, Yurtkuran offers firsthand insight into the prosecution, the evidence that led to a conviction, and the emotional weight of handling such a tragic and high-profile case.
Now a respected defense lawyer, Shaun brings both experience and balance to the discussion—reflecting on justice from both sides of the courtroom.