Oct 23, 2016 3 min read

It’s been four months since Dustin Lee Miller was shot and killed in broad daylight on a busy street in Mt. Morris, and we’re no closer to learning whether the shooter was justified in his actions or will face charges.

Greene County District Attorney Marjorie Fox is declining to discuss details of the case, which would be understandable in most circumstances to protect an ongoing criminal investigation.

But Fox is refusing even to say whether she has closed the case or is still reviewing the fatal June 23 shooting of Miller by Cam Ray Lemley of Core, W.Va.

State police said Miller was riding in a car with his mother on the way to a mental health evaluation at a West Virginia hospital when he became “irate” and left the vehicle.

He then threatened other drivers and damaged their cars, creating a scene as passing motorists looked on.

Miller, 33, then jumped in front of Lemley’s truck, police have said. Lemley got out of his vehicle with a revolver, prompting an argument, which led to Lemley fatally shooting Miller, police said.

According to witness reports and the state police’s investigation, it appeared Lemley might be justified. That’s what he apparently thinks, too.

Contacted by the Observer-Reporter last week, Lemley said investigators led him to believe the matter was closed, although he hadn’t spoken to police or anyone else investigating the incident since the night of the shooting.

“I’m not concerned because it was justifiable,” Lemley said last Monday.

Believing he was justified is one thing. But it should be the duty of the district attorney to confirm that, with Fox either acknowledging that she is still reviewing the case or that she has closed it without filing charges.

The public may never know every detail in the fatal shooting of Miller, but it does have the right to know why it happened and whether the shooting was justified.

More so than just the public, however, is the fact that Miller’s mother, Rhonda Harsh of Waverly, W.Va., should also be notified on where the investigation stands. Harsh said last week she has not spoken to Fox, but she planned to call her soon to “know what the thought process is” and put the matter to rest.

“I’m just surprised the investigation is still open,” she said.

The shooting obviously was a traumatic event for Harsh, who witnessed the incident. It is our belief that she should be informed what the investigation revealed and whether the shooting was justified.

“Last I knew, the investigating officers assumed it would be closed with no charges filed,” Harsh said last week. “I don’t know if there’s more to it that I don’t know.”

Although it won’t bring her son back, a mother deserves to know what happened and why. Moreover, this was a public killing, witnessed by many people on a busy street.

If Fox needs more time to review the case, she should acknowledge that. There’s nothing wrong with conducting a thorough investigation. But if the case has been closed and the shooting is considered a justifiable act, the public should know that as well.