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Written by: E. George
Published April 14, 2025 @ 10:55 AM ET
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. – The Georgia Senate approved a measure Friday that would allow criminal defendants to recover their legal expenses when a prosecuting attorney is disqualified due to misconduct, potentially impacting high-profile cases such as the prosecution of former President Donald Trump. The legislation also introduces long-awaited reforms to the state’s process for compensating people who have been wrongfully convicted.
Senate Bill 244 passed with a 35-18 vote and is now set to be sent to Governor Brian Kemp for approval. The bill addresses two separate issues: one related to the reimbursement of legal costs for defendants whose cases are dismissed due to prosecutorial misconduct and another aimed at providing more streamlined compensation for the wrongfully convicted.
The bill’s provisions were partly inspired by the high-profile legal battle involving Trump and his co-defendants, who were indicted in Fulton County in 2023 for their alleged roles in attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from overseeing the case after an appeals court ruled that her personal relationship with a special prosecutor created a conflict of interest.
This ruling prompted state Senator Brandon Beach, a Republican from Alpharetta, to introduce the measure, which would allow defendants in similar situations to recover attorneys’ fees from county funds.
Additionally, the bill revives the Wrongful Conviction Compensation Act, a proposal that has languished in Georgia’s legislature for several years. Under the new framework, individuals who have been wrongfully convicted and later exonerated would be entitled to receive $75,000 for each year of incarceration.
Those who were sentenced to death but later exonerated would receive an additional $25,000 for each year spent on death row. The bill seeks to establish a standardized system for compensation, which currently depends on the introduction of individual legislative resolutions—a process that has proven difficult and politically contentious.
Georgia is one of only a dozen states that does not have a formal law in place to compensate people wrongfully convicted of crimes. As a result, compensation has often been delayed or denied, requiring a legislator to sponsor each case individually, a process fraught with political obstacles.
The bill’s passage was not without controversy. While it garnered support from Republicans and some Democrats, many in the Democratic party raised concerns about the broader implications of the measure. Some argued that the provision allowing defendants to recoup their legal costs could disproportionately affect smaller counties with fewer resources and discourage prosecutors from pursuing complex or high-profile cases.
Representative Scott Holcomb, a Democrat from Atlanta, championed the reforms to compensate the wrongfully convicted, calling the bill “one of the few incredibly consequential bills” he has worked on. Holcomb, who has long pushed for changes to the system, acknowledged that while no amount of money could fully restore the lives of those wrongfully incarcerated, the compensation would provide crucial support as they attempt to rebuild their lives.
Meanwhile, some lawmakers, particularly Republican Senator Randy Robertson, expressed reservations about the wrongful conviction compensation component of the bill. Robertson, a former law enforcement officer, has been a vocal opponent of previous attempts to reform the compensation system, arguing that some overturned convictions may be due to technical errors rather than actual innocence. However, Robertson ultimately supported the bill, acknowledging that the current system is flawed and needs reform.
The new compensation process would allow an administrative law judge to determine eligibility for compensation, removing lawmakers from the decision-making process. This shift aims to reduce the politicization of wrongful conviction cases, providing a more efficient and consistent approach to compensation.