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House Resolution 129
By: Representatives Dempsey of the 13
th
, Barton of the 5
th
, and Lumsden of the 12
th
A RESOLUTION
Compensating Mr. Daryl Lee Clark; and for other purposes.
1
WHEREAS, on October 18, 1996, fifteen-year-old Brian Bowling tragically lost his life2
while playing "Russian Roulette" with his friend, seventeen-year-old Cain Joshua Storey, in3
the bedroom of Mr. Bowling's home in Floyd County, Georgia; and4
WHEREAS, despite compelling evidence that Mr. Bowling's death was self-inflicted and the5
absence of evidence demonstrating that Mr. Bowling's death was a homicide, Floyd County6
law enforcement began to investigate Mr. Bowling's death as a homicide after members of7
the Bowling family exerted pressure on law enforcement to do so; and8
WHEREAS, several months later, seventeen-year-old Daryl Lee Clark, an acquaintance of9
Mr. Bowling, was arrested, and both he and Mr. Storey were charged with the murder and10
conspiracy to commit the murder of Mr. Bowling; and11
WHEREAS, Mr. Clark repeatedly and unwaveringly maintained his innocence and the only12
evidence against Mr. Clark came through two witnesses at trial, who were both improperly13
influenced by law enforcement and ultimately determined to be unreliable; and14
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WHEREAS, one of the State's two key witnesses was Angela Bruce, who claimed that during
15
a party at her home after Mr. Bowling's death, she heard Mr. Storey say he had shot and16
killed Mr. Bowling, and heard Mr. Clark say he was present at the time of the shooting; and17
WHEREAS, the second of the State's two key witnesses was Charlie Childers, a functionally18
illiterate and severely hearing and speech impaired man with limited and unique sign19
language skills, whose trial communications were presented through a standard sign language20
interpreter and then supplemented with assertions made by a Floyd County Police detective,21
leaving the jury with information that Mr. Childers had seen a person named "Daryl" flee22
from Mr. Bowling's yard immediately after the shooting, and that Mr. Childers had identified23
Mr. Clark in a police photo lineup; and24
WHEREAS, on January 19, 1998, Mr. Clark and Mr. Storey were both convicted of murder25
and conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to life imprisonment; and26
WHEREAS, in late 2021 during an independent investigation, it came to light that police27
suppressed and failed to turn over evidence that, though they had spoken to other party28
guests, not a single person confirmed Ms. Bruce's story; and in late 2021, Ms. Bruce admitted29
for the first time to reporters and the Georgia Innocence Project that her incriminating30
testimony concerning Mr. Clark's and Mr. Storey's admissions was false and made under31
duress at the hands of law enforcement, who threatened to take away her children and had32
shared their plan with the Bowling family; and33
WHEREAS, the independent investigation further established for the first time that Mr.34
Childers's translator at Mr. Clark's trial later questioned the accuracy of her own translation35
of Mr. Childers's testimony, and regretted providing the translation at trial, because Mr.36
Childers's manner of communication was not standard American Sign Language, but instead37
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a communication method unique to Mr. Childers and his former teacher (an ASL expert who
38
knew and understood Mr. Childers's unique communication method, having worked with him39
from the time he has been a child); and40
WHEREAS, through interpretation by a new translator (his former teacher) in 2021, it was41
made clear for the first time that Mr. Childers had never identified Mr. Clark in a photo42
lineup as fleeing from the scene, had never marked Mr. Clark's photo with an "X" during the43
lineup as the police detective had claimed at trial, had never identified Mr. Clark as running44
through the Bowling's yard when Mr. Bowling was shot, and had never seen anyone outside45
the Bowling's residence at the time of the shooting; and46
WHEREAS, the 2021 independent investigation also revealed for the first time that the lead47
police investigator in the case was having a sexual relationship with a member of Mr.48
Bowling's family at the time that he decided, at the Bowling family's request, to investigate49
the case as a homicide and to pursue Mr. Clark as a primary suspect; and50
WHEREAS, based upon this newly discovered evidence of police misconduct, the51
withholding of critical and material evidence, false testimony, and grounds of actual52
innocence, on September 16, 2022, Georgia Innocence Project lawyers filed an Extraordinary53
Motion for New Trial (EMNT) and a petition for a writ of habeas corpus; and54
WHEREAS, on December 8, 2022, Mr. Clark's convictions were overturned and vacated by55
the Superior Court of Floyd County, which granted the EMNT in a consent order prepared56
by Mr. Clark's attorneys and the District Attorney's Office for the Rome Judicial Circuit57
stating that the newly discovered evidence called into question the accuracy of the testimony58
of the State's two critical witnesses; and59
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WHEREAS, on that same date, the District Attorney's Office for the Rome Judicial Circuit
60
sought, and a Floyd County Superior Court Judge granted, dismissal of all charges against61
Mr. Clark based upon evidentiary considerations; and62
WHEREAS, after more than twenty-five years of wrongful imprisonment by the State of63
Georgia, Mr. Clark was finally exonerated and freed from his incarceration on December 8,64
2022; and65
WHEREAS, as a result of his wrongful imprisonment, Mr. Clark was deprived of his66
irreplaceable, God-given, and constitutionally guaranteed rights to liberty, freedom of67
speech, movement, association and worship, and robbed in his pursuit of happiness, family68
life, and belonging and contributing to his community; and69
WHEREAS, Mr. Clark suffered personal injury, lost wages, injury to his reputation, health,70
emotional trauma, psychiatric injury, and suffered the daily deprivations, fears, risks and71
indignities of imprisonment, and other damages as a result of his wrongful incarceration; and72
WHEREAS, during his imprisonment, Mr. Clark obtained his GED and took a variety of73
adult education courses, dedicated himself to cultivating stronger and sustained relationships74
with his family in the unnatural prison setting, and, upon release has become active in his75
church community and the Georgia exoneree community, providing both support to other76
victims of wrongful imprisonment and heightening awareness about the causes and77
consequences of wrongful incarceration through his volunteer work with the Georgia78
Innocence Project; and79
WHEREAS, the conviction, incarceration, and subsequent loss of liberty and other damages80
suffered by Mr. Clark occurred through no fault or negligence on his part, and it is only81
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fitting, just, and proper that he be compensated for his losses in the amount of $75,000.00 for
82
each year of wrongful imprisonment; and83
WHEREAS, Georgia is one of only eleven states that does not have a statutory regime for84
compensating innocent individuals who have been exonerated following wrongful conviction85
and incarceration; and86
WHEREAS, this lack of a statutory regime for compensation requires introduction of a87
private resolution to secure such compensation in Georgia.88
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF89
GEORGIA that the Department of Administrative Services is authorized and directed to pay90
the sum of $1,917,128.00 to Mr. Daryl Lee Clark as compensation as provided above. Said91
sum shall be paid from funds appropriated to or available to the Department of92
Administrative Services and shall be paid subject to the provisions of this resolution. After93
an initial payment of $632,652.00, the remainder of said sum shall be paid immediately into94
a commercial annuity account bearing interest at the prevailing market rate, payable in equal95
monthly installments over ten years beginning in 2026 with interest payable to Mr. Daryl Lee96
Clark. The State of Georgia shall be entitled to a credit equal to the amount it pays under this97
resolution should Mr. Daryl Lee Clark recover damages as a result of a lawsuit against any98
state official or employee acting in an official capacity whose tort liability for wrongful99
conviction arises from the same circumstances as described herein, less any attorney's fees100
or costs Mr. Daryl Lee Clark paid in obtaining those damages. Should Mr. Daryl Lee Clark101
recover damages totaling less than the amount the State of Georgia pays under this102
resolution, the State of Georgia shall be entitled to a partial credit no greater than the amount103
of damages Mr. Daryl Lee Clark recovers less any attorney's fees or costs Mr. Daryl Lee104
Clark paid in obtaining those damages. Upon the death of Mr. Daryl Lee Clark, all payments105
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and all obligations of the State of Georgia regarding any and all future payments with
106
respect to the annuity shall continue to be made to his estate or heirs.107
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that any amount received by Mr. Daryl Lee Clark pursuant108
to this resolution shall be excluded from his taxable net income for state income tax109
purposes.110
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