TODAY, Wednesday, October 2nd, is Wrongful Conviction Day – the annual international observance dedicated to ending wrongful convictions and highlighting the plight of those convicted of crimes they did not commit. Georgia Innocence Project and the Innocence Network urge you to help raise awareness about the causes and consequences of wrongful convictions on this important […]
We have more EXCITING NEWS in the Devonia Inman case! Yesterday, the Georgia Supreme Court rejected the Georgia State Attorney General’s efforts to stop Devonia Inman’s habeas case from proceeding to a hearing on the merits. Additionally, Presiding Justice Nahmias and Chief Justice Melton issued extraordinary concurring opinions reminding prosecutors to “ensure that justice is being […]
In so many post-conviction innocence cases the biggest hurdle we face comes from the State successfully arguing: “Innocence does not matter. You’re too late; you should have brought your claims earlier.” Too often, the criminal legal system denies justice in the interest of finality and maintaining the status quo. We are therefore thrilled to report […]
Last month we shared a two-part update on the Joey Watkins case. Part I detailed Joey’s innocence and how previous decision-makers have turned a blind eye to that fact. Part II explained the background behind Joey’s recent unsuccessful attempt to appeal a 2018 decision dismissing his habeas corpus petition. Though the State is entitled to […]
Last week, in a two-sentence decision, the powers that be again turned a blind eye to Joey Watkins’ quest for justice. Here’s the background. Over fifteen years after Joey’s wrongful imprisonment for the murder of Isaac Dawkins and during an extraordinarily intensive investigation into Joey’s case by the Undisclosed podcast and by the Georgia Innocence […]
Joey Watkins is innocent. You don’t have to take our word for it. Take the word of Dr. Paul Steffes, a well-respected scientist and professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who has testified in a number of criminal cases as an expert witness for the prosecution – including in the September 2000 hearing that […]
I am thrilled to report that a Muscogee County Court recently ordered that our client Johnny Lee Gates is entitled to a new trial! Mr. Gates is a black man who was convicted by an intentionally all-white jury of the 1976 rape, robbery and murder of a white woman in Columbus, Georgia. He has fought […]
Thanks for TEN. Because of your wonderful generosity, GIP now has TEN employees – including two new staff attorneys and an investigator! And just this week, we welcomed TEN new members onto our Board of Directors. We are a strong and dedicated team fighting to free the imprisoned innocent. Thanks for appellate review and fair […]
To most Americans, the scene is a familiar one: a person walks down the austere stone steps of a courthouse or through the gates of a prison, flanked by a team of triumphant attorneys, met by a scrum of reporters. These people have just been exonerated of crimes that they did not commit, crimes for […]
When The State Loses Or Destroys Key Evidence… This week’s Undisclosed episode – “Mix Tape” – focuses on lost evidence in the case of GIP client Dennis Perry. Susan and Colin describe the litany of evidence the State apparently lost in the fifteen years between the original investigation and Dennis Perry’s trial: original, never-transcribed audio […]