Executive Summary
- Georgia has only 3 Conviction Integrity Units (CIUs) covering 3 of 159 counties, leaving 156 counties — and 46 of 49 judicial circuits — without any prosecutorial mechanism to identify and correct wrongful convictions.
- Every wrongfully imprisoned person costs Georgia taxpayers $75,000 per year in potential compensation liability under the Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act, on top of ongoing incarceration costs.
- Nationally, CIUs secured 62 exonerations in 2024 — surpassing the 53 achieved by Innocence Organizations — yet only 5% of U.S. prosecutor offices have a CIU.
- Georgia’s procedural barriers compound the coverage gap: no right to counsel in habeas proceedings, a four-year statute of limitations that expires a decade before the average DNA exoneree is freed, and near-total bars on successive petitions.
- Wrongful convictions are a public safety crisis: every innocent person the state imprisons means the actual perpetrator remains free. As the Fulton County CIU director states, Georgia residents “have an illusion of safety, but you’re not safe.”
Key Takeaway: Georgia’s 3 CIUs cover less than 2% of the state’s counties, exposing taxpayers to mounting compensation liability while leaving wrongfully convicted people without any pathway to review.
Fiscal Impact
Direct Compensation Liability
Under Georgia’s Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act, each wrongfully imprisoned person is entitled to $75,000 per year of wrongful incarceration. The average DNA exoneree nationally serves 14 years before exoneration — meaning a single wrongful conviction case could generate over $1 million in state compensation liability, in addition to the incarceration costs the state has already absorbed.
The Cost of Inaction
Georgia’s failure to establish CIUs across its 159 counties means the state continues to pay for incarcerating people who may be innocent while simultaneously accumulating future compensation exposure. Every year without review infrastructure is a year the state funds imprisonment it may later be forced to pay for twice — once in corrections costs, and again in statutory compensation.
Public Safety Costs
Wrongful convictions impose hidden public safety costs. When the state imprisons an innocent person, the actual perpetrator remains at large. The crimes those perpetrators commit — and the investigations, prosecutions, and victim services they generate — represent an unmeasured but real fiscal burden.
CIU Funding Models
Chatham County’s CIU was established through a DOJ Bureau of Justice Assistance grant awarded in November 2021, demonstrating that federal funding can offset state costs. A statewide implementation strategy could leverage similar federal resources alongside modest state investment to create infrastructure that reduces long-term liability.
Key Takeaway: Each wrongful conviction exposes Georgia to $75,000/year in compensation liability under state law, making CIU expansion a fiscally responsible investment against mounting taxpayer exposure.
Key Findings
Georgia’s Coverage Gap Is Among the Most Severe in the Nation
Georgia has only 3 Conviction Integrity Units — in Fulton, Chatham, and Gwinnett counties — all in metro areas. With 49 judicial circuits and 159 counties, the vast majority of Georgia has no prosecutorial mechanism for reviewing potentially wrongful convictions. A person wrongfully convicted in rural South Georgia has no CIU to turn to.
CIUs Now Outpace Innocence Organizations in Exonerations
In 2024, CIUs helped secure 62 exonerations compared to 53 by Innocence Organizations. Together, these professional exonerators were involved in 93 (63%) of the 147 total exonerations that year. CIUs and Innocence Organizations collaborated on 22 exonerations (15% of total), demonstrating the complementary nature of these institutions.
Chatham County’s Disproportionate History Reveals Systemic Patterns
Chatham County accounts for 20% of Georgia’s total exonerations despite being only the fifth most populous county. Nine known exonerations have occurred in Chatham County alone. This geographic concentration strongly suggests that counties without CIUs have undiscovered wrongful convictions that never come to light because no one is looking.
Georgia’s Legal Barriers Create a Nearly Insurmountable Obstacle Course
Georgia compounds the CIU coverage gap with procedural barriers that effectively lock the courthouse door to wrongfully convicted people:
- No right to counsel in habeas proceedings — Georgia is one of the few states that does not constitutionally or statutorily guarantee the right to counsel in habeas proceedings. Most people in prison must represent themselves.
- Four-year habeas statute of limitations (O.C.G.A. § 9-14-42) — The average DNA exoneree serves 14 years before exoneration, yet Georgia’s deadline closes off claims after just four years.
- Procedural default doctrine — Claims not raised on direct appeal are generally barred, even when the person had no lawyer or didn’t know the legal issue existed.
- Successive petition bars — Filing a second habeas petition is nearly impossible, even with newly discovered evidence of innocence.
Racial Disparities in Wrongful Convictions
Brooklyn, New York’s CIU has produced 24 exonerations, of which 22 involved African-American exonerees. This finding underscores that the absence of CIUs in Georgia disproportionately harms communities of color, where wrongful convictions are concentrated.
Only 5% of Prosecutor Offices Nationwide Have CIUs
As of 2025, approximately 122 CIUs exist among approximately 2,300 prosecutor offices in the United States — meaning only about 5% have a CIU. Georgia’s 3 units place it among states with the thinnest coverage relative to population and geography.
Key Takeaway: Georgia’s 3 CIUs, restrictive habeas deadlines, and denial of counsel combine to create one of the nation’s least accessible systems for wrongfully convicted people seeking review.
Comparable States
Texas: Conservative State, National Leader
Texas has established CIUs in multiple counties, with Harris County’s CIU producing 132 exonerations since 2014 — the most prolific in the nation. Harris County’s CIU discovered that scores of people had pleaded guilty to drug possession before lab results confirmed what they possessed were not controlled substances. Texas demonstrates that CIUs operate effectively in politically conservative states, directly relevant to Georgia’s political environment.
Illinois: Sustained Urban Results
Cook County’s CIU has produced 33 exonerations since 2012, demonstrating the sustained value of conviction review in large urban jurisdictions comparable to Fulton County.
North Carolina: Statewide Model
North Carolina operates a state-level Innocence Inquiry Commission — a government body with authority to investigate claims of innocence across the entire state. Professor Robert Mosteller of UNC wrote that “a state agency devoted to finding innocence can work in the real world if it has a commitment to neutrality and is perceived as such.” This model addresses the exact coverage gap Georgia faces: ensuring people in every county, not just those with well-resourced metro DAs, have access to conviction review.
Georgia’s Bipartisan Precedent
Georgia’s Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act (SB 244) passed with bipartisan support and was signed by Republican Governor Kemp. This demonstrates existing political will for wrongful conviction reform — a foundation upon which CIU expansion legislation could build.
Key Takeaway: Texas, Illinois, and North Carolina offer proven models for CIU expansion, with Texas’s 132 Harris County exonerations demonstrating viability in conservative states comparable to Georgia.
Policy Recommendations
1. Mandate CIU Establishment Across All 49 Judicial Circuits
Require every judicial circuit in Georgia to establish a Conviction Integrity Unit or participate in a regional CIU. The current model — 3 CIUs covering 3 of 159 counties — leaves the overwhelming majority of Georgia without prosecutorial conviction review. Legislation should establish minimum staffing, independence, and reporting standards.
2. Create a Statewide Conviction Integrity Commission
Modeled on North Carolina’s Innocence Inquiry Commission, establish a state-level body with authority to receive, investigate, and act on claims of wrongful conviction from any county. This would ensure people wrongfully convicted in under-resourced rural circuits have access to the same review as those in metro Atlanta.
3. Reform the Habeas Corpus Statute of Limitations
Amend O.C.G.A. § 9-14-42 to create an exception to the four-year habeas deadline for claims of actual innocence supported by newly discovered evidence. The current deadline eliminates the vast majority of potential innocence claims given the 14-year average time to exoneration for DNA cases.
4. Guarantee Right to Counsel in Habeas Proceedings Involving Innocence Claims
Georgia is one of the few states that does not guarantee the right to counsel in habeas proceedings. Legislation should provide appointed counsel for people raising claims of actual innocence, ensuring these complex legal proceedings are not navigated pro se by people without legal training.
5. Broaden CIU Review Authority Beyond Factual Innocence
Effective CIUs review cases involving constitutional violations (Brady violations, ineffective counsel), debunked forensic science, official misconduct, and extreme sentencing outliers. Chatham County’s CIU screened out slightly over half of its 30 requests for not meeting basic eligibility, suggesting narrowly drawn criteria may exclude meritorious cases.
6. Establish Dedicated State Funding and Federal Grant Coordination
Chatham County’s CIU was established through a DOJ Bureau of Justice Assistance grant. The General Assembly should appropriate dedicated funding for CIU operations statewide while directing the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to pursue federal grants to supplement state investment.
7. Require Annual Reporting and Transparency
Mandate that all CIUs report annually to the General Assembly on cases received, cases reviewed, outcomes, demographic data, and types of error identified. This data infrastructure is essential for evaluating effectiveness and identifying systemic patterns of wrongful conviction.
Key Takeaway: A comprehensive legislative package should mandate statewide CIU coverage, reform the four-year habeas deadline, guarantee counsel for innocence claims, and create a state-level conviction integrity commission.
Read the Source Document
Read the full GPS analysis: Conviction Integrity Units: A Pathway to Justice in Georgia (PDF)
Other Versions
- Public Version — Plain-language explainer for community members and families
- Media Version — Background briefing for journalists covering criminal justice reform in Georgia