New trial granted in arson and murder case
The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday threw out arson and murder convictions against a West Georgia man who has served almost eight years in prison.
In a unanimous decision, the state’s highest court granted a new trial to Justin Chapman, saying that prosecutors failed to turn over important evidence that could have been used in his defense during his 2007 trial.
Chapman has been serving a life sentence for the June 20, 2006, killing of Alice Jackson, 79, in Bremen. Prosecutors said he set fire to his duplex to retaliate against his landlady who had told him to look for another place to live. The predawn fire spread to the adjoining apartment, where Jackson died of smoke inhalation.
Chapman has always maintained his innocence. The state Supreme Court’s decision means Chapman could soon be released from prison if state attorneys do not ask the high court to reconsider its decision.
When Chapman is released, it will then be up to Haralson County prosecutors to decide whether to retry him for the arson and murder.
“On behalf of Justin’s family, we are grateful that the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously overturned Justin’s conviction and found that it was obtained in violation of his constitutional rights,” Chapman’s new lawyers, Michael Caplan and John Rains, said in a statement.
“We are relieved that Justin can finally return home to his family,” the attorneys said. “We are also thankful to all of those who devoted themselves to the cause of justice in this case. After spending over seven years in prison for a crime he did not commit, justice has finally come.”
During the 2007 trial, the prosecution’s star witness was Joseph White, a jailhouse snitch who testified that Chapman confessed to him that he started the fire. On the witness stand, White said he was not seeking a deal from prosecutors when he came forward with information against Chapman.
But in Monday’s ruling, written by Justice Robert Benham, the Supreme Court said prosecutors withheld a videotaped interview of White that showed he was indeed seeking consideration in exchange for his testimony. Prosecutors also failed to turn over a page of a letter White had written his pastor that also indicated the same thing, the ruling said.
“White was the only state witness who testified that Chapman had confessed to arson,” Benham wrote. “It is uncontroverted that at the time White testified, several items of favorable evidence in the state’s possession had not been disclosed to the defense.”
If prosecutors had turned over all its impeachment evidence, Chapman’s defense attorney could have used it to show contradictions and inconsistencies in White’s trial testimony. This also would have created a reasonable probability the outcome of the trial would have been different, Benham wrote.
About the Author
Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
