By Vanguard Staff
ATLANTA, Ga. — A Georgia man who spent nearly 21 years behind bars for a murder he consistently maintained he did not commit was exonerated Thursday after newly-developed DNA evidence prompted prosecutors and innocence advocates to jointly seek a new trial.
Marquez Powell, now 41, was released after a Fulton County judge granted a Joint Extraordinary Motion for New Trial filed by the Georgia Innocence Project and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit. Following the ruling, prosecutors moved to dismiss all charges against him.
Powell had been convicted in 2008 at the age of 23 under a party-to-the-crime theory related to the 2005 killing of Shah Walton, his best friend. Prosecutors alleged Powell participated in a plan to rob Walton before Walton was fatally shot by Jacques Shockley.
Shockley was later separately convicted of Walton’s murder.
According to the joint filing, advanced post-conviction DNA testing supported Powell’s longstanding claim that he did not participate in robbing or harming Walton. The evidence undermined the robbery theory presented at trial and reinforced conclusions reached by the original investigating detective, who had determined Powell was merely a witness to the events and should not have been charged.
The motion followed a review conducted jointly by the Georgia Innocence Project and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit.
“For years, Mr. Powell fought to be heard and never stopped advocating for his innocence,” said Kristin Nelson Verrill, executive director of the Georgia Innocence Project.
“This case reflects the importance of conviction integrity review and a willingness to follow the evidence wherever it leads. The newly-developed DNA evidence, combined with a thorough reexamination of the case by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit, made clear that Marquez Powell’s conviction could no longer stand.”
Powell appeared virtually for Thursday’s hearing while in state custody. After processing, he was released from Hancock State Prison.
His release marks the first opportunity in more than two decades to rebuild his life outside prison.
The Georgia Innocence Project said supporters have established a fundraiser to assist Powell with the challenges of reentry after losing much of his adulthood to wrongful incarceration.
Christina Cribbs, litigation director at the Georgia Innocence Project, said the case demonstrates how advances in forensic science can reshape the understanding of past convictions.
“This case underscores how advancements in DNA technology can reshape our understanding of old convictions,” Cribbs said.
“The testing conducted in this case was not available at the time of Mr. Powell’s trial. As forensic science evolves, the legal system must remain willing to reexamine convictions when new evidence emerges.”
The filing also noted that Walton’s sister had been informed of the proceedings and supported efforts to vacate Powell’s conviction.
Founded in 2002, the Georgia Innocence Project is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to correcting and preventing wrongful convictions in Georgia. According to the organization, it has helped secure the freedom and exoneration of 17 individuals who collectively lost 393 years to wrongful convictions.
Powell’s exoneration adds to a growing number of cases nationwide in which advances in DNA testing and conviction integrity reviews have led courts and prosecutors to revisit decades-old convictions once thought settled.
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