comment: >
  
  What bittersweet news, bitter because 25 years of their life has been lost and sweet that they were finally released.
context: According to the GIP, to support their theory of intentional homicide, state prosecutors relied on the testimony of the coroner, who was not trained as a medical doctor.
  The coroner testified that his “gut feeling” told him that the gunshot wound could not have been self-inflicted because it was not a close-contact wound, according to the GIP.
  
  And this is why electing coroners is a really dumb idea. >
  
  Said coroner also went to federal prison for wide-scale fraud he committed while coroner. He took advantage of the people in Floyd County—who weren’t educated and didn’t know any better, and also feared police—and sent bills to families for their loved ones’ autopsies. He had quite the racket going on for years. He’s interviewed on the podcast and is a smooth-talking POS >
  
  Damn, what a sociopath to even conceive that racket. >
  
  This is Marjorie Taylor-Greene’s district, FWIW. >
  
  I feel like if there's not already talk of splitting Georgia into two states,  it's going to start soon.
  I live in western Washington and that's all we've heard from eastern Washington for 30 years.  Same with east/west Oregon >
  
  Saw a few “divide NY” signs this past weekend 🎉 >
  
  Splitting off upstate from downstate would be such an own goal by the upstaters. NYC taxes pay for over 2/3 of the state budget alone. You'd never have funded schools or snowplows running in the winter again. >
  
  People largely underestimate how poor parts of NY are and how NYC helps them. I just left the state and it’s insane how I saw more confederate flags there then I see in the actual south too
  I do think they need to have a required NYS geography test to get a hs diploma so maybe people realize how big the state is as my biggest “upstate/downstate” annoyance was how people in NYC thought their family in west Chester was close to Rochester >
  
  "Their investigation found police coerced the party hostess, a key witness, to give false testimony ..."
  I really hate it when the police do that. >
  
  Will the officers face charges? Probably not, most likely paid vaca- I mean leave. >
  
  25+ years ago, more than likely the cops are long gone >
  
  Or they are high up in the department and basically untouchable.
  Edit: or dead, apparently. >
  
  having been to Floyd County GA and seen the general health of the population I am going to assume that most of them are dead at this point >
  
  Floyd County is an atrocious place. I bet these cops are having a cigar and planning how they are going to keep destroying the lives of the innocent. They get off on evil. >
  
  Heart of MTG country which says it all. >
  
  Odd , I would have pegged that place as more of a Pokémon area… >
  
  She really did ruin that initialism >
  
  Margery The Gathering >
  
  Imagine being convicted because of a gut theory. >
  
  Happens all too often. >
  
  Never forget that police aren’t there to solve crime, they are there to close a case. If they find a guy that works, then thats what their focus will be. Then it’s just facts to fit theories instead of theories to fit facts. >
  
  Well the weird part is the case would’ve been closed much sooner if they had gone with suicide like the autopsy would’ve showed. In that scenario there wouldn’t even have been a trial. >
  
  When is the last time you saw a cop admit to being wrong about anything when questioned by a non-cop? 
  Police will regularly throw people in jail for a few days for things that aren’t crimes rather than admit they’re wrong. Consider how often people get arrested for little else than resisting arrest.
  Once they get an idea in their head about how something happened, they’re not inclined to change their minds about it and they will frequently twist the facts to fit their desired narrative. >
  
  
  Consider how often people get arrested for little else than resisting arrest.
  
  In my personal experience, "disorderly conduct" is basically the catch-all for this. The wording of the law is so vague and open-ended that cops can basically apply it to any situation in which they want to arrest someone who hasn't actually done anything illegal, especially if they're willing to embellish the true a bit which isn't exactly uncommon. >
  
  I had a relative argue that a 'resisting arrest' charge (a charge that can be applied to basically anything) is legitimate even if it's proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the initial reason for arrest was illegal. >
  
  The natural instinct to being restrained in any way is to try to get yourself unrestrained. >
  
  I can't imagine the unwavering faith in the court system required to think that you should be punished for struggling a bit while being illegally arrested. >
  
  
  Their investigation found police coerced the party hostess, a key witness, to give false testimony about statements Clark and Storey were alleged to have made. 
  
  ...
  
  Martin said that, for whatever reason, police back then were not interested in learning the truth about how Bowling died.
  "An autopsy in the case would have solved it, yet they refused to get an autopsy," Martin said. "That autopsy would have shown this was a self-inflicted gunshot wound."
  According to the GIP, to support their theory of intentional homicide, state prosecutors relied on the testimony of the coroner, who was not trained as a medical doctor.
  The coroner testified that his “gut feeling” told him that the gunshot wound could not have been self-inflicted because it was not a close-contact wound, according to the GIP.
  
  Amateur hour resulting in 25 years lost each for two people >
  
  Calling it amateur hour gives them more credit than they deserve. They deliberately didn’t get an autopsy or use the testimony of a doctor because it might hurt their case, and they were trying to win rather than seek justice. Despicable hour is more fitting. >
  
  I have a fuck ton of family from rual Georgia, they didn't like them boys. That's it. That gets you 25 years. >
  
  That'll do it in rural North Cackalaky also. >
  
  What is the monetary value on having spent 25 years in the prime of your life rotting away in prison for a crime you did not commit? >
  
  It is a Georgia so 50,000 to 100,000 dollar per year served. Which is a new system they only voted into existence this year. 
  Before that, there was no structured way to claim compensation and people who were wrongfully convicted had to go through a long, convoluted process to maybe, if they were lucky, get some money from the state. >
  
  Sooo, are the taxed the 50-100k per year as well? >
  
  Oh of course >
  
  I can’t imagine being locked up for something I didn’t do. But I bet it happens everyday. >
  
  Not near to this extent since I was a juvenile - 
  Mouthed off to a cop, he made up a bunch of charges saying I attacked him.  6 months in jail, a year on house arrest, and more time on probation.  Plus over $25k in court costs I’m still paying this day.  It’s completely fucked my life.  
  All over something I didn’t even do, because a cop didn’t like a teenager being rude.  Only saving grace I have is he’s dead now, so I win in the end.  
  I can’t imagine how it must feel for someone who went to prison for something they didn’t do as long as the men in the article did.  I have enough trauma from my experience, and it was nowhere near that level.  I can only imagine the trauma and distrust they have in the system.  
  They should get to live a life of luxury the rest of their lives, on the government’s dime.  Or maybe the police pension’s dime.  Stop encouraging cops to falsely imprison people. >
  
  Have you pissed on his grave yet? If not, let me know where it is, and I'll do it for you. >
  
  Oh trust me, he died long and slow from COVID.  
  I kept tabs on him the whole time since it happened. >
  
  Covid was the number one killer of police two years in a row. Not every covid death was tragic. >
  
  Imagine if Covid were an urban youth wearing a hoodie. We’d have made so many inroads in the first month. >
  
  Where's the accountability?
  
  Whoopsie doopsie! You're free to go!
  
  Is that it? No internal investigation? No reparations? >
  
  They probably get a payout that come from taxpayers for their mistakes, again >
  
  And a laughable one, I'm sure. >
  
  I've seen as low as $50. >
  
  Russian roulette....wcgw? Like I'm glad these guys got out of jail but this whole tragedy could have been easily avoided >
  
  i havent read all the comments but... why aren't more people talking about this detail? that's fucking insane to me.
  you're at a party, someone says "hey lets play this game where someone will die" and you say "hell yeah count me in!" and everyone gathers around like they're watching beer pong. >
  
  C’mon man, it’s only a 1/6 chance someone will die >
  
  "Their investigation found police coerced the party hostess, a key witness, to give false testimony about statements Clark and Storey were alleged to have made. 
  The podcasters also found that a hearing-impaired man, who was also a key witness, had seen an unrelated but factually similar shooting in 1976 and was unable to separate the facts in that case from Bowling’s 1996 death, according to the GIP. 
  It was learned that the hearing-impaired man never saw Clark run through Bowling’s yard when Bowling was shot, which was the prosecution’s theory....
  According to the GIP, to support their theory of intentional homicide, state prosecutors relied on the testimony of the coroner, who was not trained as a medical doctor."
  Hope their eventual settlement makes the rest of their lives easy living cause this is some bullshit. >
  
  
  The podcasters also found that a hearing-impaired man, who was also a key witness, had seen an unrelated but factually similar shooting in 1976 and was unable to separate the facts in that case from Bowling’s 1996 death, according to the GIP. 
  
  Is "hearing-impaired" the polite way of saying "legitimately mentally disabled"? Because that's the only thing that'd explain him "being unable" to separate something that happened twenty years beforehand with something that happened recently.
  Also he clearly wasn't able to communicate this to people. Despite, you know, writing existing. >
  
  I don’t remember the exact details but he was profoundly deaf and his family were all hearing. He only briefly ever went to school and basically never learned ASL. His brother was able to roughly translate for him but mostly with pointing and miming. >
  
  If only there was some way to communicate information without speaking. >
  
  Damn thatd be wild >
  
  Sometimes, miracles do happen! 
  Thank you to Susan Simpson and Jacinda Davis who are behind the podcast “Proof!” >
  
  Susan Simpson is simply outstanding.  I have been following her work since the beginnings of Undisclosed podcast and she exemplifies “no stone unturned.” >
  
  Undisclosed is such a great series. Really outstanding work and storytelling. >
  
  I've listened to it and it is a great podcast. Susan Simpson was previously a host on the show "Undisclosed" and she is a Rockstar at what she is doing. If you are interested in hearing the case that first brought her to Floyd Co. GA, go way back to season 2 of the Undisclosed podcast to learn about Joey Watkins. With the help of Susan Simpson and the lawyers of the Georgia Innocence Project, Joey Watkins may also be free in 2023. >
  
  Amazing how these states want to also paint themselves as being civilized, modern and “first world”, given how intentionally corrupt the police and the prosecution were and how unqualified the coroner — gut feeling > autopsy — was.
  This was a complete fantasy prosecution to bolster people’s reputations and most likely their re-elections. Funded by the taxpayer and paid for by two teenagers. >
  
  
  Amazing how these states want to also paint themselves as being civilized, modern and “first world”
  
  To be fair it's Georgia. I'm not sure they ever claimed to be civilized. >
  
  But it's still full of GOP voters that don't want to support Ukraine "because it is so corrupt". >
  
  So they were convicted and spent 25 years in prison on hearsay? How the fuck do you justify that conviction and sentence without an autopsy? >
  
  Lying police, duh. >
  
  The fact that podcasters keep finding evidence and solving cases really makes me question police detectives. >
  
  If I had a nickel for every time a podcast cleared people of murder, I'd have two nickels, which isn't that many, but it's still weird it happened twice. >
  
  Is the other in the dark? Listening to that now and love the way it’s structured. If not I’d love to listen to the one you’re talking about. >
  
  I was referring to Serial, so I guess I'd have three nickels. >
  
  Some of the heroes in this case were the family of the young man who died. They fully believed these two men killed their family member, but were willing to listen to and participate in the podcast. And by doing so, they realized they were wrong and did everything within their power to make try to help these men get set free. >
  
  Eh, sounds like the family did both. They pushed for these kids to get railroaded the first time, then changed their mind. So kind of a dick family overall, but not all bad. >
  
  The were cheated out of $7700 by the coroner, lied to by the police. They never stood a chance.... >
  
  That's what you get for having an adversarial system where the sole goal in the investigation is to find someone they can plausibly convict. >
  
  Even though those detectives are probably dead I think in situations like this any accommodations or awards, or any type of celebration of these officers should be publicly destroyed, taken away, or stricken down. Otherwise even in death they are still being celebrated for their evil. >
  
  In the podcast, the son of one of the police officers called his father a hero. Barf >
  
  Absolutely true, I grew up with a guy in rural Georgia and he is now the county coroner.  Zero training and has no background in this field.  I believe he was a volunteer fireman prior to being elected.  It’s a frightening situation if someone lands in court. >
  
  "Martin said that, for whatever reason, police back then were not interested in learning the truth about how Bowling died."
  They still aren't interested in the truth in many cases. Prosecutor should not be an elected office as it is in all but 3 states. There is too much incentive to just convict someone, anyone, guilty or not. >
  
  The ones responsible need to lose 50 years. This is ridiculous. >
  
  I wonder if GA even has any sort of wrongful conviction reimbursement. 
  Not all states do. >
  
  He wouldn’t be eligible for it in states that do have it though. He took a plea to involuntary manslaughter. This is distinct from actual innocence. >
  
  
  He wouldn’t be eligible for it in states that do have it though. He took a plea to involuntary manslaughter.
  
  He? You know the article is about 2 people not 1?
  Did they both plea?
  Darrell Lee Clark and Cain Joshua Storey
  
  Storey pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter
  
  but doesn't say that Clark did. >
  
  Listening to true crime stories will make you sure of one thing; police are incredibly corrupt, exceedingly lazy, and inept to the level of being deliberately obtuse. >
  
  This is one of the biggest reasons that capital punishment is irresponsible >
  
  This is the biggest reason for me. There are times where execution is the best thing you can do. But, I can't put enough trust in our judicial system to make sure they have the right guy, so I'd rather not take the chance. >
  
  In Texas they executed a guy on the motive that he listened to heavy metal, therefore he must have killed his two daughters for fun. >
  
  That's.... What? Everything's bigger in Texas I supposed.
  Especially mistakes. >
  
  Floyd county GA is a crazy hotspot for wrongful convictions (see police, jury, and prosectorial misconduct). The Undisclosed podcast covered at least 1 other case that was recently overturned, Joey Watkins (u/viewfromll2) after covering that Adnan Syed case (MD). There may have been others fr the GA innocence project as well. >
  
  Joey is still in jail. But he's responsible for informing Susan of this case, so a hero in my book... >
  
  Joey just had his conviction overturned by the GA supreme court based on something that Susan found. >
  
  All these dudes know if prison life, I hope life on the outside is easy for them. >
  
  “Yeah, about sending you to prison for something you didn’t do….ummm…sorry”? >
  
  Unfortunately (I do not know for sure on this one), but still will be "We did everything by the book and we stand by our fellow LEO and will NOT taint their 'legacy'"
  Because, if they admit their wrongdoings, EVERY CASE those LEOs worked on may have to be thrown out the door or have to be closely audited. >
  
  This is why the death penalty should be abolished... Mistakes are made. >
  
  This is not a mistake it's deliberate corruption >
  
  Problem is mistakes and corruption happen enough that about 4% of people on death row in the US are found innocent, that's their point. >
  
  There are even more who are innocent, but don't have the evidence and/or the means to fight the conviction. >
  
  Everyone knows so goddamn many cops are dishonorable despicable degenerates but it takes a special breed of cunt prosecutor to really put the innocent away >
  
  Hey now! No need to malign dogs here, dogs are better than cops in every way. >
  
  You're right of course, I'll fix that now.  
  I'll need a new D word because alliteration's important....hmmm  got it! >
  
  Alliteration accomplishes another aspiration! >
  
  Floyd police will probably issue a statement today that everything with this case was handled perfectly and it is a model of police work for all future hires to follow. Add it to the training video! >
  
  And this is why the death penalty can’t be used: our justice system is too flawed for such a permanent outcome >
  
  We really need to start jailing the judges, prosecutors and cops involved in cases like this for criminal negligence. There is no accountability in Law Enforcement or the Judicial system. Yet we treat it like it is some great powerful deity. >
  
  So nice to know one has to prove themselves innocent...  /s >
  
  So police coerced a false statement from a witness that led to 2 men spending 25 years in jail for a crime the police invented out of thin air to make themselves look good, and not a single one will ever be held accountable. What a BS world we've in. >
  
  This entire case was based on the ‘gut feeling’ of the coroner. That’s sick. Imagine how many other people are wasting away their lives in prison because of a ‘guy feeling’
  The entire system needs to be changed >
  
  These aren’t amateur podcasters - one is an attorney. Let’s give her (Susan Simpson) the credit she deserves. >
  
  What is the name of the podcast? >
  
  Proof: A True Crime Podcast (by Red Marble Media) >
  
  Thank you. >
  
  You know all those "cold cases" they like to show on TV? 
  What bullshit, huh? You want "cold cases"... how about look into ALL the 'iffy' cases and work to free the innocent. 
  Nah. Not flashy enough. Not 'ratings worthy' huh? >
  
  Is no one going to mention the podcast that dug up this case and did all the amazing work to make this happen?
  It's called proof, you can find it by going to youtube and searching proof podcast. Amazing that these individuals spent their own time, research and effort just to help these people out. >
  
  This is why I’m against the death penalty. Not because I don’t think some crimes don’t warrant it, but because so many innocent people are accidentally or knowingly falsely imprisoned. >
  
  Most coroners elected in the state of Georgia have no formal training at all.  Seems like it is contest to place another crony into a position no one else wants. >
  
  Wait really? No need for a medical license or background in law/forensics? How the hell can that be allowed, surely you'd want someone with some background in forensics involved as the coroner? >
  
  the next Only Murders in the Building >
  
  Now go lock up the lying scumbag cops who put them there. >
  
  How can they refuse autopsy and charge for murder? 🤦‍♂️ >
  
  While there's lots of prosecutorial and law enforcement misconduct in this case, there's some method to this particular piece of madness. They initially assumed this was suicide, and only decided to prosecute later. I'm not sure if the exact timeline, but it's likely that they assumed a autopsy was not necessary because of this at the time.
  The truly sickening part is that the coroner billed the family for an autopsy. Autopsies are free, the which means that should never have happened. Billing for an autopsy that never even happened is truly sick. That guy should be behind bars for life for this. >
  
  Why does this happen? Why are our public servants not held to a higher standard than the normal civilian? >
  
  Police should have to serve the time that they were in prison. Add a multiplier even. >
  
  Imagine if police actually did their jobs. Where the fuck is all the money we're spending going? They're not making a great case for not defunding them if they can't even do their jobs not that protecting the public is really their main job anyway >
  
  This like the 3rd wrongfully convicted person Susan Smith has helped get released from jail.
  She’s a boss >
  
  Passionate podcasters should not be the ones we have to rely on. >
  
  This is exactly the reason I’m so opposed to the death penalty >
  
  The ironic thing is that if they had been given the death penalty, with the mandatory appeals, greater media focus and greater attention from organizations like the the innocence project, they likely would have gotten out earlier.  The fact that there was no autopsy would have probably been enough. >
  
  
  The podcasters also found that a hearing-impaired man, who was also a key witness, had seen an unrelated but factually similar shooting in 1976 and was unable to separate the facts in that case from Bowling’s 1996 death
  
  What? So he saw someone die playing Russian roulette in 1976 and in 1996 and was accidentally bringing up details from the first time? >
  
  Pretty much. He doesn’t fully communicate with American Sign Language. He has some basics, but a lot of his communication is through his brother or other people that know him well. 
  His knowledge of the world in general is also pretty limited.
  He didn’t understand why they were asking him about the Bowling shooting because he didn’t see it. So he was telling them about the other shooting he actually did see. He also seemed to mix up the names of few of the people involved.
  The officer Battle claimed to understand him perfectly as he took a semester of sign language a couple of decades before and just made up a statement out of whole clothe. 
  In court they brought in a sign language interpreter who was in way over her head and it became a shit show that should have been thrown out but instead was left despite being disjointed and misleading. >
  
  
  ” Martin said that, for whatever reason, police back then were not interested in learning the truth about how Bowling died.”
  
  This is the infuriating part.
  They’re never very interested in the truth, they just want another collar. >
  
  Damn, the story has Amanda Knox vibes. The police coerced a witness and the prosecution cited the coroner's "gut feeling" instead of having an autopsy. >
  
  Nope that the coroner was later convicted for coercing families of deceased to pay money that he was never entitled to. Truly a piece of shit. Any case that he was involved in should automatically be overturned. >
  
  Aren't their people in jail that have been proven innocent but the system won't allow them to be released because they can't get a new trail or hearing or evidencemumbo jumbo the system stops from happening >
  
  Please except this $875 and our apologies. >
  
  In cases like these, those involved in charging and prosecuting should face some sort of punishment or at least a thorough review of all their cases.
  This is the kind of thing you get where the state only cares about proving (whether true or not) the guilt of those charged. As I've said before, we need to educate the jury pool to refuse to convict if they even smell something hinky with the way a case has been investigated or prosecuted. See fija.org for more. >
  
  Once again, cops being lazy, at best, leads to innocent men in jail. >
  
  What was the podcast? I can’t see the title mentioned in the article (but I honestly may have just missed it). >
  
  
  state prosecutors relied on the testimony of the coroner, who was not trained as a medical doctor.
  
  Coroners need to have medical degrees. >
  
  Please make these men millionaires. This is so fucked up. >
  
  Time to pass some laws against true crime podcasts and civilians investigating a crime while not a police.  
  /s >
  
  The family of the supposed victim was convinced of the mistake halfway through the podcast season and contacted the DA. The DA basically opined exactly what you wrote. Only after a case was bright in court did she check out the facts of the case and did they realize that both should be released, which then happened surprisingly quickly. >
  
  But I was told that I had nothing to fear if I was innocent >
  
  Overzealous prosecutors and investigators need to be held liable for their criminal behavior >
  
  Investigative podcasttimg is the new freelance journalism of the modern day let’s get more work like this done erything dosent have to be sensationalist >
  
  Now wtf happens to those who stole those years from these kids? They should pay with prison time. >
  
  I hope they can work harder to exonerate more of those wrongly convicted in small cities where competent investigators are few and far between. Most of those so far I have read about are African-Americans. >
  
  How can you possibly read that entire article and STILL be in favor for the death penalty? >
  
  Podcasts have become our Hall of Justice these days. >
  
  The evidence is overwhelming regarding cops being disdainful human beings. Little evidence that what they do has anything to do with protection or public safety. Defunding is the restrained version of what should be done to them.