Bill > HR128

This resolution is a comprehensive legislative document authorizing compensation for five individuals who were wrongfully convicted and later exonerated in Georgia. The resolution provides financial compensation to Joseph Samuel Watkins ($1,688,527.40), Daryl Lee Clark ($1,917,128.00), Michael Woolfolk ($1,350,000.00), Mario Stinchcomb ($975,000.00), and Sedrick Moore ($1,691,280.00), each of whom spent years in prison for crimes they did not commit. The compensation will be paid through an annuity structure, with an initial lump sum payment followed by equal monthly installments over ten years, beginning in 2026. Each individual must sign a release waiving future legal claims against the state, and the compensation is tax-exempt for state income tax purposes. The resolution highlights that Georgia is one of only eleven states without a statutory framework for compensating exonerated individuals, and it aims to provide financial remedy for the lost years of liberty and damages suffered by these wrongly convicted men. The payments will be managed by the Department of Administrative Services and are intended to be the sole and final compensation for their wrongful convictions.

Budget and Finance

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69779