| 1 | 1 | | 25 LC 60 0059 |
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| 2 | 2 | | House Resolution 130 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By: Representative Crawford of the 89 |
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| 4 | 4 | | th |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | A RESOLUTION |
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| 7 | 7 | | Compensating Mr. Sedrick Moore; and for other purposes. |
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| 8 | 8 | | 1 |
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| 9 | 9 | | WHEREAS, on the night of February 15, 1993, three men broke into a Colquitt County,2 |
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| 10 | 10 | | Georgia, home where they robbed and sexually assaulted a woman at gunpoint; and3 |
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| 11 | 11 | | WHEREAS, the victim was only able to identify one of the three perpetrators, Mr. Tyrone4 |
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| 12 | 12 | | White; and5 |
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| 13 | 13 | | WHEREAS, during his interview with police, Mr. White implicated Mr. Sedrick Moore and6 |
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| 14 | 14 | | Mr. Kerry Robinson as the two other perpetrators; and7 |
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| 15 | 15 | | WHEREAS, over six years after the incident, Mr. Moore was arrested in connection with the8 |
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| 16 | 16 | | incident and charged, along with Mr. Robinson, with rape and other offenses related to9 |
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| 17 | 17 | | robbery and possession of a firearm; and10 |
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| 18 | 18 | | WHEREAS, Mr. White made a deal with the State for a more lenient sentence in exchange11 |
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| 19 | 19 | | for his testimony against Mr. Moore and Mr. Robinson; and12 |
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| 20 | 20 | | WHEREAS, both Mr. Moore and Mr. Robinson were tried at the same time; and13 |
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| 21 | 21 | | H. R. 130 |
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| 22 | 22 | | - 1 - 25 LC 60 0059 |
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| 23 | 23 | | WHEREAS, at trial, despite giving several inconsistent statements to the police regarding |
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| 24 | 24 | | 14 |
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| 25 | 25 | | the incident, Mr. White's testimony was the primary evidence against Mr. Moore and Mr.15 |
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| 26 | 26 | | Robinson; and16 |
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| 27 | 27 | | WHEREAS, the only other evidence against Mr. Moore and Mr. Robinson was a statement17 |
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| 28 | 28 | | from Mr. Johnny Brown, III, a neighbor of the victim, placing Mr. Moore in the area that18 |
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| 29 | 29 | | night and testimony from a DNA expert that DNA from a sexual assault exam performed on19 |
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| 30 | 30 | | the victim on the night of the incident matched Mr. Moore's and Mr. Robinson's DNA; and20 |
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| 31 | 31 | | WHEREAS, on February 26, 2002, a jury convicted Mr. Moore of one count of rape, three21 |
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| 32 | 32 | | counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, one count of armed22 |
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| 33 | 33 | | robbery, and one count of burglary, and Mr. Moore was sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment;23 |
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| 34 | 34 | | and24 |
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| 35 | 35 | | WHEREAS, both Mr. Moore and Mr. Robinson maintained their innocence and pursued25 |
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| 36 | 36 | | appeals of their convictions; and26 |
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| 37 | 37 | | WHEREAS, in 2018, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation began using a new DNA testing27 |
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| 38 | 38 | | method and Mr. Robinson sought new DNA testing as further post-conviction relief; and28 |
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| 39 | 39 | | WHEREAS, the new DNA testing revealed that testimony by the State's DNA expert29 |
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| 40 | 40 | | regarding the DNA from the victim's sexual assault exam was incorrect and did not support30 |
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| 41 | 41 | | a valid DNA match to Mr. Robinson or Mr. Moore; and31 |
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| 42 | 42 | | WHEREAS, based on this new DNA evidence, Mr. Robinson filed an Extraordinary Motion32 |
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| 43 | 43 | | for New Trial (EMNT) and was ultimately exonerated on January 8, 2020, after the State33 |
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| 44 | 44 | | declined to further prosecute his case; and34 |
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| 45 | 45 | | H. R. 130 |
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| 46 | 46 | | - 2 - 25 LC 60 0059 |
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| 47 | 47 | | WHEREAS, Mr. Moore subsequently filed an EMNT and, on May 12, 2023, a Colquitt |
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| 48 | 48 | | 35 |
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| 49 | 49 | | County Superior Court Judge granted Mr. Moore's EMNT, after finding, among other things,36 |
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| 50 | 50 | | that the testimony of Mr. White and the victim "barely resembled each other"; Mr. Brown37 |
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| 51 | 51 | | had picked Mr. Moore out of a photo lineup, but had indicated at that time that he was not38 |
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| 52 | 52 | | sure that Mr. Moore was the same person he had seen; and both the State and Mr. Moore had39 |
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| 53 | 53 | | agreed that the DNA expert's testimony and results produced at trial were wrong and should40 |
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| 54 | 54 | | not be considered; and41 |
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| 55 | 55 | | WHEREAS, on August 28, 2023, the State moved for entry of an order of nolle prosequi,42 |
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| 56 | 56 | | which a Colquitt County Superior Court Judge granted, thereby dismissing all charges and43 |
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| 57 | 57 | | officially exonerating Mr. Moore after more than 21 years of wrongful imprisonment by the44 |
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| 58 | 58 | | State of Georgia; and45 |
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| 59 | 59 | | WHEREAS, the conviction, incarceration, and subsequent loss of liberty and other damages46 |
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| 60 | 60 | | suffered by Mr. Moore occurred through no fault or negligence on his part, and it is only47 |
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| 61 | 61 | | fitting, just, and proper that he be compensated for his losses.48 |
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| 62 | 62 | | NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF49 |
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| 63 | 63 | | GEORGIA that the Department of Administrative Services is authorized and directed to pay50 |
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| 64 | 64 | | the sum of $1,691,280.00 to Mr. Sedrick Moore as compensation as provided above. Said51 |
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| 65 | 65 | | sum shall be paid from funds appropriated to or available to the Department of52 |
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| 66 | 66 | | Administrative Services and shall be paid subject to the provisions of this resolution. After53 |
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| 67 | 67 | | an initial payment of $558,122.40, the remainder of said sum shall be paid immediately into54 |
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| 68 | 68 | | a commercial annuity account bearing interest at the prevailing market rate, payable in equal55 |
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| 69 | 69 | | monthly installments over ten years beginning in 2026 with interest payable to Mr. Sedrick56 |
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| 70 | 70 | | Moore. The State of Georgia shall be entitled to a credit equal to the amount it pays under57 |
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| 71 | 71 | | this resolution should Mr. Sedrick Moore recover damages as a result of a lawsuit against any58 |
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| 72 | 72 | | H. R. 130 |
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| 73 | 73 | | - 3 - 25 LC 60 0059 |
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| 74 | 74 | | state official or employee acting in an official capacity whose tort liability for wrongful |
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| 75 | 75 | | 59 |
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| 76 | 76 | | conviction arises from the same circumstances as described herein, less any attorney's fees60 |
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| 77 | 77 | | or costs Mr. Sedrick Moore paid in obtaining those damages. Should Mr. Sedrick Moore61 |
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| 78 | 78 | | recover damages totaling less than the amount the State of Georgia pays under this62 |
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| 79 | 79 | | resolution, the State of Georgia shall be entitled to a partial credit no greater than the amount63 |
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| 80 | 80 | | of damages Mr. Sedrick Moore recovers, less any attorney's fees or costs Mr. Sedrick Moore64 |
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| 81 | 81 | | paid in obtaining those damages. Upon the death of Mr. Sedrick Moore, all payments and65 |
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| 82 | 82 | | all obligations of the State of Georgia regarding any and all future payments with respect to66 |
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| 83 | 83 | | the annuity shall continue to be made to his estate or heirs.67 |
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| 84 | 84 | | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that any amount received by Mr. Sedrick Moore pursuant68 |
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| 85 | 85 | | to this resolution shall be excluded from his taxable net income for state income tax69 |
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| 86 | 86 | | purposes.70 |
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| 87 | 87 | | H. R. 130 |
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| 88 | 88 | | - 4 - |
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