HR 130: Moore, Mr. Sedrick; compensate

House Resolution 130

By: Representative Crawford of the 89th

A RESOLUTION

Compensating Mr. Sedrick Moore; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, on the night of February 15, 1993, three men broke into a Colquitt County, Georgia, home where they robbed and sexually assaulted a woman at gunpoint; and

WHEREAS, the victim was only able to identify one of the three perpetrators, Mr. Tyrone White; and

WHEREAS, during his interview with police, Mr. White implicated Mr. Sedrick Moore and Mr. Kerry Robinson as the two other perpetrators; and

WHEREAS, over six years after the incident, Mr. Moore was arrested in connection with the incident and charged, along with Mr. Robinson, with rape and other offenses related to robbery and possession of a firearm; and

WHEREAS, Mr. White made a deal with the State for a more lenient sentence in exchange for his testimony against Mr. Moore and Mr. Robinson; and

WHEREAS, both Mr. Moore and Mr. Robinson were tried at the same time; and

WHEREAS, at trial, despite giving several inconsistent statements to the police regarding the incident, Mr. White's testimony was the primary evidence against Mr. Moore and Mr. Robinson; and

WHEREAS, the only other evidence against Mr. Moore and Mr. Robinson was a statement from Mr. Johnny Brown, III, a neighbor of the victim, placing Mr. Moore in the area that night and testimony from a DNA expert that DNA from a sexual assault exam performed on the victim on the night of the incident matched Mr. Moore's and Mr. Robinson's DNA; and

WHEREAS, on February 26, 2002, a jury convicted Mr. Moore of one count of rape, three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, one count of armed robbery, and one count of burglary, and Mr. Moore was sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment; and

WHEREAS, both Mr. Moore and Mr. Robinson maintained their innocence and pursued appeals of their convictions; and

WHEREAS, in 2018, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation began using a new DNA testing method and Mr. Robinson sought new DNA testing as further post-conviction relief; and

WHEREAS, the new DNA testing revealed that testimony by the State's DNA expert regarding the DNA from the victim's sexual assault exam was incorrect and did not support a valid DNA match to Mr. Robinson or Mr. Moore; and

WHEREAS, based on this new DNA evidence, Mr. Robinson filed an Extraordinary Motion for New Trial (EMNT) and was ultimately exonerated on January 8, 2020, after the State declined to further prosecute his case; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Moore subsequently filed an EMNT and, on May 12, 2023, a Colquitt County Superior Court Judge granted Mr. Moore's EMNT, after finding, among other things, that the testimony of Mr. White and the victim "barely resembled each other"; Mr. Brown had picked Mr. Moore out of a photo lineup, but had indicated at that time that he was not sure that Mr. Moore was the same person he had seen; and both the State and Mr. Moore had agreed that the DNA expert's testimony and results produced at trial were wrong and should not be considered; and

WHEREAS, on August 28, 2023, the State moved for entry of an order of nolle prosequi, which a Colquitt County Superior Court Judge granted, thereby dismissing all charges and officially exonerating Mr. Moore after more than 21 years of wrongful imprisonment by the State of Georgia; and

WHEREAS, the conviction, incarceration, and subsequent loss of liberty and other damages suffered by Mr. Moore occurred through no fault or negligence on his part, and it is only fitting, just, and proper that he be compensated for his losses.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF

GEORGIA that the Department of Administrative Services is authorized and directed to pay the sum of $1,691,280.00 to Mr. Sedrick Moore as compensation as provided above. Said sum shall be paid from funds appropriated to or available to the Department of Administrative Services and shall be paid subject to the provisions of this resolution. After an initial payment of $558,122.40, the remainder of said sum shall be paid immediately into a commercial annuity account bearing interest at the prevailing market rate, payable in equal monthly installments over ten years beginning in 2026 with interest payable to Mr. Sedrick Moore. The State of Georgia shall be entitled to a credit equal to the amount it pays under this resolution should Mr. Sedrick Moore recover damages as a result of a lawsuit against any state official or employee acting in an official capacity whose tort liability for wrongful conviction arises from the same circumstances as described herein, less any attorney's fees or costs Mr. Sedrick Moore paid in obtaining those damages. Should Mr. Sedrick Moore recover damages totaling less than the amount the State of Georgia pays under this resolution, the State of Georgia shall be entitled to a partial credit no greater than the amount of damages Mr. Sedrick Moore recovers, less any attorney's fees or costs Mr. Sedrick Moore paid in obtaining those damages. Upon the death of Mr. Sedrick Moore, all payments and all obligations of the State of Georgia regarding any and all future payments with respect to the annuity shall continue to be made to his estate or heirs. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that any amount received by Mr. Sedrick Moore pursuant to this resolution shall be excluded from his taxable net income for state income tax purposes.