Georgia Prisoners’ Speak
Model Legislation | March 2026
Model Legislation
The Georgia Post-Conviction Justice Act
Three Bills. One Reform Package.
GPS has drafted a complete legislative package — actual bill text in Georgia General Assembly format — ready for sponsors to file in the 2027 session. Each bill stands alone, but together they form the Georgia Post-Conviction Justice Act: the most comprehensive post-conviction reform package in Georgia history.
These are model bills prepared for legislative sponsors. When filed, the Georgia Office of Legislative Counsel will assign LC numbers and format each bill according to their internal conventions.
The lead measure is the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act. Since 1967, habeas corpus has been the only proceeding that hears a constitutional claim after direct appeal — so whatever any bill in this package builds is received by a proceeding governed by a four-year clock that nothing stops. The deadline repeal decides whether those claims can be heard at all.
The Bills
The Habeas Corpus Restoration Act →
Correcting Ourselves | No New Rights | No Appropriations
Repeals the four-year habeas corpus deadline the legislature imposed in 2004 — the first filing deadline placed on Georgia’s general habeas corpus statute in the 141 years since the Code of 1863. Removes a clock, not a screen: every other safeguard against meritless petitions survives.
| Part I | Repeals the habeas deadline (§ 9-14-42(c)–(d)); applicability and refiling of petitions dismissed as untimely |
| Part II | Coordination, severability, effective date |
The Conviction Integrity Act →
Building What Georgia Has Never Had | New Institutions
Builds the institutional infrastructure Georgia has never had to protect the innocent. Creates the right to post-conviction counsel, case file access, meaningful law library standards, a statewide Conviction Integrity Commission, plea bargain reform, and an Independent Prosecutor Review Board.
| Part I | Right to post-conviction legal access |
| Part II | Georgia Conviction Integrity Commission |
| Part III | Plea bargain reform |
| Part IV | Prosecutor accountability |
| Part V | Definitions, severability, effective dates |
Correcting Clear Errors on Direct Review | No New Rights | No Appropriations
Extends plain-error review to all claims in criminal cases, as the federal system has allowed since 1944 — so clear, outcome-affecting errors are corrected on direct appeal from the existing record instead of through years of ineffective-assistance litigation. Raised from the committee table at the July 10, 2026 Blue-Ribbon hearing; the Chief Justice responded that he “certainly would not oppose” the extension.
| Section 3 | Plain-error review for all claims, codifying the State v. Kelly standard (new § 5-6-52) |
| Section 4 | Applies to cases still on direct review; immediate effect |
The Sleeping Giants Act — withdrawn, August 2026. The § 17-9-4 rights it set out to restore are heard in habeas corpus, so repealing the deadline restores them — no separate bill is needed. Read why →
How the Bills Work Together
The Habeas Corpus Restoration Act corrects the legislature’s own mistake. It repeals the 2004 deadline that ended 141 years in which Georgia’s habeas statute carried no filing deadline. The framing is “correcting ourselves” — and the precedent of H.B. 176 (passed 168-0 in the House, 51-0 in the Senate) shows self-correction is both possible and bipartisan. It is the lead measure of the package: the door every other bill’s claims must pass through. It also does the work of the withdrawn Sleeping Giants Act — the § 17-9-4 rights are heard in habeas corpus, so the repeal restores them without any new procedure.
The Conviction Integrity Act builds what Georgia has never had. The first two bills reopen doors. The Conviction Integrity Act ensures people can walk through them — with appointed counsel, case file access, conviction integrity infrastructure, plea reform, and prosecutor accountability.
The Plain Error Review Act corrects clear errors directly. It extends plain-error review to all claims in criminal cases, so record-based errors are resolved on direct appeal instead of through years of ineffective-assistance litigation — answering a question raised from the committee table that the Chief Justice said he would not oppose. No new rights. No new institutions. No appropriations.
Critical Design Feature
Each bill stands alone. If the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act fails, the Conviction Integrity Act’s infrastructure provisions still improve the system, and the Plain Error Review Act still corrects record-based errors on direct appeal. But the deadline repeal is the door: whatever else passes, a claim must still be heard, and the repeal is what makes that possible. Together, the three bills form the most comprehensive post-conviction reform package in Georgia history.
Total appropriations required: The Habeas Corpus Restoration Act and the Plain Error Review Act require none. The Conviction Integrity Act requires funding for the Conviction Integrity Commission (~$1.5–2.0M annually) and the Prosecutor Review Board, but legal access, plea reform, and prosecutor disclosure duties take effect immediately without appropriation.
For Legislative Sponsors
These model bills are ready for sponsors to file. GPS invites legislators, attorneys, and allied organizations to review, improve, and co-own this legislation. Organizations that contribute become co-sponsors of the final package.
For questions, feedback, or to discuss sponsorship: info@gps.press
Georgia Prisoners’ Speak | gps.press | info@gps.press