23 LC 44 2337S
H. R. 70 (SUB)
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The House Committee on Appropriations offers the following substitute to HR 70:
A RESOLUTION
Compensating Mr. Devonia Inman; and for other purposes.1
WHEREAS, in the early morning hours of September 19, 1998, the manager of the Adel,2
Georgia, Taco Bell was shot and killed in the restaurant's parking lot after closing, and her3
car was stolen and abandoned nearby; and4
WHEREAS, there were no eyewitnesses to the murder, and no physical evidence ever has5
connected Mr. Devonia Inman to the murder, the crime scene, the location where the victim's6
car was recovered, or to the car itself; and7
WHEREAS, a ski mask, homemade from a pair of sweatpants, was found near the driver's8
seat inside the victim's abandoned car, but it did not reveal the presence of any testable9
genetic material at the time; and10
WHEREAS, despite this lack of physical evidence and his continued proclamations of11
innocence, Mr. Devonia Inman was arrested and charged with this crime in early 1999, and12
on January 27, 2000, prosecutors announced they would seek the death penalty; and13 23 LC 44 2337S
H. R. 70 (SUB)
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WHEREAS, before trial Mr. Devonia Inman and his counsel urged the district attorney to14
investigate another man, Hercules Brown, who worked at the Taco Bell with the victim; and15
WHEREAS, during the trial Mr. Devonia Inman sought to present evidence that Hercules16
Brown had planned and confessed to the crimes for which Mr. Devonia Inman was on trial,17
but such evidence was excluded by the trial court; and18
WHEREAS, during the trial the lead investigator for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation19
(GBI) falsely testified that he had not received any information throughout the investigation20
about Hercules Brown committing the crimes, and the district attorney also repeatedly21
represented to the trial court that there was no evidence whatsoever of Hercules Brown's22
involvement; and23
WHEREAS, Mr. Devonia Inman's conviction was based primarily upon the testimony of four24
unreliable witnesses; and 25
WHEREAS, before Mr. Devonia Inman's trial, a teenager who worked at the Taco Bell with26
Hercules Brown and the victim, recanted her pretrial statements to law enforcement that had27
implicated Mr. Devonia Inman; and28
WHEREAS, at Mr. Devonia Inman's trial, a second witness, who was incentivized to blame29
Mr. Devonia Inman because eyewitness testimony later placed her in the vicinity of the30
victim's stolen car, recanted her pretrial statements to law enforcement that had implicated31
Mr. Devonia Inman; and32
WHEREAS, at Mr. Devonia Inman's trial, a third witness, who sought and received33
assurances from the GBI that the prosecution would explore options to reward him for his34 23 LC 44 2337S
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cooperation, reluctantly testified against Mr. Devonia Inman, and in a subsequent proceeding35
acknowledged his trial testimony was fabricated and coerced; and36
WHEREAS, a fourth witness came forward more than a month after the crime occurred, and37
only after learning about a cash reward for information about the crime, and her testimony38
was contradicted by another witness; and39
WHEREAS, Mr. Devonia Inman's counsel was never furnished with exculpatory evidence40
that established his innocence prior to trial, notwithstanding counsel's repeated requests for41
such information and numerous court orders requiring the prosecution to disclose such42
information; and43
WHEREAS on June 25, 2001, Mr. Devonia Inman was convicted of malice murder, armed44
robbery, and firearm offenses, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of45
parole, plus a consecutive life sentence, for the crime; and46
WHEREAS, while Mr. Devonia Inman spent more than four years awaiting the preparation47
of his trial transcript so that he could properly appeal his conviction, the district attorney who48
prosecuted him was federally indicted for misconduct in office, including lying to the Federal49
Bureau of Investigation about having a sexual relationship with an informant, civil rights50
violations, and witness tampering; entered a guilty plea; and surrendered his law license; and51
WHEREAS, in March, 2010, Mr. Devonia Inman, with the assistance of the Georgia52
Innocence Project, filed an Extraordinary Motion for Post-Conviction DNA Testing and a53
New Trial ("EMNT"), requesting that the homemade ski mask recovered from the victim's54
car in his case be tested for the presence of DNA using recently developed technology; and55 23 LC 44 2337S
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WHEREAS, in May, 2011, the requested testing revealed that the DNA recovered from the56
inside mouth area of the homemade ski mask found within the victim's car belonged to57
Hercules Brown and not Mr. Devonia Inman; and58
WHEREAS, on October 23, 2014, the same judge who presided over Mr. Devonia Inman's59
trial denied his extraordinary motion for a new trial, ruling that Hercules Brown's DNA was60
"not irrelevant," but it was "not apparent to [his] judicial mind" that such DNA "would61
probably produce a different verdict"; the Georgia Supreme Court then declined Mr. Devonia62
Inman's request to hear an appeal of the EMNT denial (a decision about which Justice63
Nahmias later expressed grave doubts and regret, as set forth below); and64
WHEREAS, beginning in early 2016, pro bono counsel comprehensively reinvestigated Mr.65
Devonia Inman's case and developed even more new evidence, including that the prosecution66
failed to disclose that prior to Mr. Devonia Inman's trial, Hercules Brown was arrested for67
and charged with criminal conduct in the vicinity of the Taco Bell, during which he was68
found in possession of a loaded gun, crack cocaine, and a similar homemade ski mask; and69
WHEREAS, on January 20, 2018, Mr. Devonia Inman, through pro bono counsel, filed a70
Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (the "Petition") in the Superior Court of Chattooga71
County, again proclaiming his innocence and asserting that his constitutional rights were72
violated by, among other misconduct, the prosecution's failure to disclose this material, and73
exculpatory evidence; and74
WHEREAS, on September 19, 2019, the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously denied the75
State of Georgia's attempt to dismiss Mr. Devonia Inman's Petition, with then-Chief Justice76
Melton and then-Presiding Justice Nahmias expressing grave concerns about Mr. Devonia77
Inman's conviction; in his concurring opinion, Justice Nahmias wrote, "Everyone involved78 23 LC 44 2337S
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in our criminal justice system should dread the conviction and incarceration of innocent79
people. During my decade of service on this Court, I have reviewed over 1,500 murder cases80
in various forms. . . . Of the multitude of cases in which a new trial has been denied, Inman's81
case is the one that causes me the most concern that an innocent person remains convicted82
and sentenced to serve the rest of his life in prison". Justice Nahmias further stated about the83
denial of Mr. Devonia Inman's EMNT years earlier, "I have grave doubts about the trial84
court's order denying that motion, and I regret that this Court denied Inman's application for85
a discretionary appeal of that order in 2014."; and86
WHEREAS, on August 16, 2021, the Superior Court of Chattooga County granted Mr.87
Devonia Inman's Petition, finding that his constitutional rights were violated by, among other88
things, the prosecution's failure to disclose material, exculpatory evidence, and ruling "the89
trial and post-trial proceedings against Mr. Inman were fundamentally unfair and are90
unworthy of confidence in their outcome"; and91
WHEREAS, on December 20, 2021, at the request of the District Attorney for the Alapaha92
Judicial Circuit, the Superior Court of Cook County entered an order vacating Mr. Devonia93
Inman's conviction and entering a nolle prosequi with respect to the indictment against him;94
and 95
WHEREAS, Mr. Devonia Inman thus was exonerated, and on December 23, 2021, he was96
released from prison after spending more than 23 years behind bars for a crime he did not97
commit; and98
WHEREAS, Mr. Devonia Inman has suffered the loss of liberty, personal injury, lost wages,99
injury to reputation, health issues, emotional distress, and other damages as a result of his100
wrongful arrest, conviction, and incarceration; and101 23 LC 44 2337S
H. R. 70 (SUB)
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WHEREAS, Mr. Devonia Inman's conviction, incarceration, loss of liberty, and other102
damages occurred through no fault or negligence on his part, and it is only fitting and proper103
that he be compensated for his losses in the amount of $70,000.00 for each year of wrongful104
imprisonment.105
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF106
GEORGIA that the Department of Administrative Services is authorized and directed to pay107
the sum of $1,610,000.00 to Mr. Devonia Inman as compensation, as provided above. Said108
sum shall be paid from funds appropriated or available to the Department of Administrative109
Services and subject to the provisions of this resolution. Said sum shall be in full and110
complete satisfaction of all claims against the State of Georgia arising out of said occurrence.111
After an initial payment of $536,667.00, the remainder of said sum shall be paid immediately112
into a commercial annuity account bearing interest at the prevailing market rate, payable in113
equal monthly installments over ten years beginning in 2024 with interest payable to Mr.114
Devonia Inman. The State of Georgia shall be entitled to a credit in an amount equal to any115
damages recovered by Mr. Devonia Inman from any state officer or employee acting in an116
official capacity whose tort liability arises from the circumstances as described herein, less117
any attorney's fees or costs Mr. Devonia Inman paid in obtaining those damages, should any118
remedy for such damages later be successfully pursued. Upon the death of Mr. Devonia119
Inman, all payments and all obligations of the State of Georgia with respect to any and all120
future payments of the annuity and interest shall continue to be made to his estate or heirs.121
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that any amount received by Mr. Devonia Inman pursuant122
to this resolution shall be excluded from his taxable net income for state income tax123
purposes.124