Lee Clark and Joey Watkins with Rep. Katie Dempsey

Lee Clark, Rep. Katie Dempsey and Joey Watkins at the Georgia Capitol after Dempsey read resolutions for compensation for the two wrongly convicted men Thursday on the floor of the House.

Two Floyd County men jailed for murders they didn’t commit and exonerated decades later could be in line for more than $1 million each from the state under legislation sponsored by Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome.

Lee Clark was convicted of murder on Jan. 19, 1998, in the death of Brian Bowling when the two were just teens. An independent investigation years later determined Bowling had shot himself during a game of Russian Roulette and false evidence was presented at trial. With the help of Georgia Innocence Project lawyers, Clark’s conviction was overturned on Dec. 28, 2022, and he was freed from prison.

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