There is a sentence in the Official Code of Georgia that decides, in advance, that no one injured in a Georgia prison can be compensated as a victim of crime. Part 3 of the GPS series Who Are the Victims documents the statute that erases them — and the three provisions that would have to change.
In 2008, the Georgia Supreme Court 4-3 confirmed that defendants could challenge a void conviction under a statute Georgia had carried since 1863. Fourteen months later, after one justice retired, a new 4-3 majority erased the rule. Same statute. Same words. Different result. Article 3 of the No Way Out series.
Two existing Georgia statutes — one from 1863, the other containing the most powerful safety-valve language in Georgia law — could unlock post-conviction justice if anyone would enforce them. Article 1 of the “No Way Out” series.
An estimated 2,500-5,000 innocent people sit in Georgia’s prisons with every avenue of relief locked shut. GPS investigation connects three systemic failures — the habeas corpus deadline, absent conviction integrity units, and ignored Supreme Court precedent — and calls on the General Assembly to act before Crossover Day.