Georgia man exonerated in car theft case

By Bill Rankin

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A 43-year-old man was released Tuesday after serving more than two years in prison for a crime DNA tests show he did not commit.

Michael Marshall was homeless and found sleeping in an apartment hallway when he was arrested November 13, 2007. Officers said he bore an uncanny similarity to a composite sketch of a suspect who had recently stolen a truck at gunpoint outside a woman's home in Hapeville.

The woman's son, who witnessed the theft and provided a description to the sketch artist, was called to the apartment and identified Marshall as the truck thief, Aimee Maxwell, the Georgia Innocence Project's executive director, said.

Marshall was charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, because of a prior burglary conviction. He faced a maximum of 45 years in prison.

When Marshall's lawyer could not get the witness's identification suppressed, Marshall pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of theft by taking and was sentenced to four years in prison. As of Tuesday, he had served two years and a month of that term.

After receiving a letter from Martin, the Georgia Innocence Project got the GBI to conduct DNA tests of a T-shirt, cell phone and cell phone case found by police after losing the suspect in a high-speed chase. Those tests show that the items belonged to another man, Maxwell said.

"This shows there are people who are still going to prison who are innocent," Maxwell said Tuesday. "It's not like this is a thing of the past."

Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford, who presided over the initial case, ordered Marshall's release during a hearing on Monday.