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Written by: E. George
Published March 26, 2024 @ 9:30 PM ET
DOUGHERTY COUNTY, Ga. – In one of America’s lengthiest pretrial detentions, Maurice Jimmerson spent 10 years in the Dougherty County Jail without a scheduled court date or court-appointed attorney and never received a conviction. Jimmerson, now 33 years old, was released on March 20, 2024, and reunited with his family, including his 14-year-old daughter.
Albany Police officers arrested Jimmerson and four individuals in connection with a May 2013 double murder. Juries acquitted almost all of his co-defendants years ago; however, Jimmerson, considered legally innocent, remained behind bars awaiting a trial.
He remained in jail during delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, flooding in the courthouse, and lack of legal representation.
His mother, Sonya Holmes, stated in 2023, “Nobody talks about it. There’s no news coverage. Nobody is listening. It’s been 10 years, and nobody has listened.”
That same year, attorney Andrew Fleischman chose to represent Jimmerson pro bono after learning about his case on Atlanta News First Investigates. Fleischman said, “You don’t need to have a law degree to know something’s wrong here. We should not punish people until we’ve proven they’ve committed a crime.”
Jimmerson finally received a trial two months later, but it was declared a mistrial due to the jury’s inability to reach a verdict. He returned to jail and stayed there since.
He maintains his innocence, but his recent release was a facet of a plea agreement negotiated with the local district attorney’s office requiring him to plead guilty to possession of a firearm and aggravated assault. He received a sentence of 30 years probation, including 11 years served and 19 remaining.
The plea deal prohibits him from entering Dougherty and surrounding counties during his probation. He was allotted 45 days to obtain a living space outside those parameters.
Jimmerson was enrolled as a student until his 9th-grade year and faced 235 years in jail for his original charges.
Dougherty County District Attorney Gregory Edwards stated that Jimmerson did not serve 10 years in the county jail because he had spent time in a Georgia prison for an incident at the detention center. Edwards did not mention that he could have initiated a trial at any point during his incarceration, either at the state prison or the jail.
Jimmerson served approximately one year at the Georgia Department of Corrections for a felony while he awaited trial at the sheriff’s detention center. His relatives and attorneys think this felony could have been avoided if the district attorney had brought his case to trial within a reasonable amount of time.
Edwards’ statement also did not mention that his office, not Jimmerson’s public defenders, recommended the plea agreement.
Jimmerson said he agreed to the plea deal because he did not wish to risk more jail time.
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