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GA HR902
Resolution
Status
Passed
2/29/2024
Primary Sponsor
Katie Dempsey
Click for details
AI Summary
- Directs the Department of Administrative Services to pay $1,620,986.27 to Joseph Samuel Watkins as compensation for wrongful imprisonment, calculated at $72,000.00 per year of incarceration
- Mr. Watkins was convicted on July 2, 2001, and sentenced to life imprisonment for the January 11, 2000, shooting death of Isaac Dawkins on Highway 27 in Floyd County, despite cell phone records establishing he could not have been at the crime scene
- A state habeas court found that a GBI forensic analyst gave false testimony at trial, the State suppressed exculpatory evidence (a .22 caliber bullet extracted from a dog found near the victim's grave, which differed from the 9mm bullet that killed the victim), and a juror improperly conducted her own investigation during deliberations
- The Supreme Court of Georgia unanimously affirmed the overturning of Mr. Watkins's conviction on December 20, 2022; he was released on bond January 3, 2023, and all charges were dismissed on September 21, 2023, officially exonerating him
- Compensation is structured as an initial payment of $535,000.00 followed by the remainder paid into a commercial annuity with equal monthly installments over ten years beginning in 2025; payments are excluded from state taxable income and continue to his estate or heirs upon his death
Legislative Description
Watkins, Mr. Joseph Samuel; compensate
Last Action
Senate Read and Referred
3/4/2024
Committee Referrals
Appropriations3/4/2024
Appropriations1/26/2024
Full Bill Text
No bill text available