HR118: HR118 Woolfolk, Mr. Michael; compensate

Michael Woolfolk was convicted of murder in 2004 along with Mario Stinchcomb after both claimed self-defense in the 2002 shooting death of Jaketha Young. A key witness who could have corroborated their story was mistakenly believed dead and never testified at trial. Years later, that witness was found alive, and both men eventually had their convictions thrown out and charges dropped, with Stinchcomb becoming the first person exonerated by the Fulton County Conviction Integrity Unit. Because Georgia has no general law compensating wrongfully convicted people, this resolution is a one-time private bill directing the Department of Administrative Services to pay Woolfolk $1,350,000, calculated at $75,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment. An initial payment of $445,500 would be made, with the rest placed in an annuity paid out monthly over ten years starting in 2026. The state would get credit against any future lawsuit damages Woolfolk recovers for the same wrongful conviction, and the payments would not count as taxable state income.

• Directs the Department of Administrative Services to pay Michael Woolfolk $1,350,000 in compensation for his wrongful conviction and incarceration.
• Sets an initial lump sum payment of $445,500, with the remaining balance placed into a commercial annuity paying monthly installments over ten years starting in 2026.
• Gives the state a credit against this payment if Woolfolk later wins a lawsuit against a state official or employee over the same wrongful conviction, minus his legal costs.
• Continues all remaining annuity payments to Woolfolk's estate or heirs if he dies before they are complete.
• Excludes any money Woolfolk receives under this resolution from his taxable net income for Georgia state income tax purposes.

The resolution directly benefits Michael Woolfolk, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 18 years. It also involves the Department of Administrative Services, which must make the payments, and touches state officials whose potential future tort liability could reduce the state's payout credit.

Because Georgia has no general compensation law for the wrongfully convicted, Woolfolk can only be paid through this individual legislative act. If passed, it would give him a specific, structured payout for years lost in prison, while also showing how such cases are currently handled one at a time rather than through a standard state process.

• The whereas clauses detail the 2002 shooting, the 2004 conviction of Woolfolk and Stinchcomb, the missing witness Jamario Ford, and the 2020-2021 exoneration process.
• The resolved clause authorizes and directs the Department of Administrative Services to pay Woolfolk $1,350,000 total, based on $75,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment.
• The payment structure requires an initial payment of $445,500, with the remainder placed in an interest-bearing annuity paid monthly over ten years beginning in 2026.
• The state receives a full or partial credit against this payment if Woolfolk recovers damages from a related lawsuit against a state official, minus his attorney's fees and costs.
• Payments continue to Woolfolk's estate or heirs if he dies before the annuity term ends.
• The final clause excludes the compensation from Woolfolk's taxable net income for Georgia state income tax purposes.

1. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
2. 2025-03-04House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
3. 2025-02-04House Second Readers (House)
4. 2025-02-03House First Readers (House)
5. 2025-01-30House Hopper (House)

• Stacey Evans (D, HD-057)Primary sponsor
• Tanya Miller (D, HD-062)
• Phil Olaleye (D, HD-059)
• Scott Holcomb (D, HD-101)

• wrongful conviction compensation
• criminal justice
• Fulton County
• exoneration
• state payments