HR129: HR129 Clark, Mr. Daryl Lee; compensate

Daryl Lee Clark was convicted in 1998, along with Cain Joshua Storey, for the 1996 murder of Brian Bowling and sentenced to life in prison. Years later, an independent investigation and the Georgia Innocence Project uncovered that the two key witnesses against him gave false or mistranslated testimony and that police had suppressed evidence and coerced a witness. In December 2022, a Floyd County Superior Court judge vacated Clark's conviction and dismissed all charges, freeing him after more than 25 years of wrongful imprisonment. Because Georgia has no general law compensating exonerated people, this resolution is a private bill to pay Clark directly. It would direct the Department of Administrative Services to pay him $1,917,128, with an initial payment of $632,652 and the rest placed in an annuity paid out monthly over ten years starting in 2026. The state would get credit against this payment if Clark also wins a lawsuit over the same wrongful conviction, and the payments would continue to his estate or heirs if he dies. The money would not count as taxable income under Georgia's state income tax.

• Directs the Department of Administrative Services to pay Daryl Lee Clark $1,917,128 as compensation for 25-plus years of wrongful imprisonment.
• Requires an initial lump-sum payment of $632,652, with the remaining balance placed into a commercial annuity paid in equal monthly installments over ten years starting in 2026.
• Gives the State of Georgia a credit against this payment (full or partial) if Clark separately recovers damages from a lawsuit against a state official over the same wrongful conviction, minus his attorney's fees and costs.
• Continues all future annuity payments to Clark's estate or heirs if he dies before payments are complete.
• Excludes any money Clark receives under this resolution from his taxable net income for Georgia state income tax purposes.

Daryl Lee Clark, the exonerated individual who would receive the payment, and the Department of Administrative Services, which would administer and fund the payments. It could also affect any future litigation involving Floyd County officials or employees tied to his wrongful conviction.

Because Georgia lacks a general law compensating exonerated people, wrongfully convicted individuals like Clark must seek payment through one-off legislative resolutions like this one. If passed, it would provide him a defined, tax-free financial remedy for over two decades of wrongful imprisonment.

• The preamble recounts the 1996 death of Brian Bowling, Clark's 1998 murder conviction, and the 2021-2022 investigation revealing coerced and mistranslated witness testimony and police misconduct.
• States that Clark's convictions were vacated and all charges dismissed by the Superior Court of Floyd County on December 8, 2022, after 25-plus years of imprisonment.
• The resolving clause directs payment of $1,917,128, with $632,652 paid immediately and the remainder placed in a ten-year annuity beginning in 2026.
• Grants the State of Georgia a credit against any tort damages Clark might separately win from state officials over the same wrongful conviction, minus his legal costs.
• Provides that if Clark dies, remaining annuity payments continue to his estate or heirs.
• Excludes the compensation from Clark'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. 2025-02-05House Second Readers (House)
4. 2025-02-04House First Readers (House)
5. 2025-02-03House Hopper (House)

• Katie Dempsey (R, HD-013)Primary sponsor
• Matt Barton (R, HD-005)
• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-012)

• wrongful conviction compensation
• Georgia Innocence Project
• criminal justice reform
• Floyd County
• exoneration