Police investigation and their Coercing Witnesses

 Police investigation and their Coercing Witnesses

 

Darrell Lee Clark (Clark) and his friend Cain Joshua Storey (Storey) were 17 years old when they were arrested for their alleged involvement in the death of their friend a 15-year-old Braian Bowling (Bowling).

 

Bowling died from a gunshot wound to the head in his home in 1996. Moments before the gun was fired, Bowling was on the phone with his girlfriend and told her he was playing a game with a gun, which was brought to his home by his friend Storey, who was in the room at the time of the shooting.

 

Storey was charged with involuntary manslaughter. But a months later, police began investigating the death as homicide, on the statements of two witnesses and the urging of the deceased Bowling’s family members.

 

The two teenagers were sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, following the weeklong trial in 1998.

 

Actually, what happened was - Bowling accidentally shot himself in the head. 

 

But the first witness, a woman who live near Bowling’s home, was interviewed by police, who claimed the teens confessed they had ‘planned the murder of Bowling because he knew too much about a prior theft Storey and Clark had committed.

 

Based on this witness statement, Storey was charged with murder and Clark was arrested as a co-conspirator, despite having a corroborated alibi of Clark, stating he was his home on the night of the shooting, which was supported by his two witnesses.

 

After 25 years – now that woman witness revealed in the podcast that police coerced her into giving false statements and threatened to take her children away from her if she failed to comply.

 

The other witness, a man who was in a different room of the (deceased) Bowling’s home at the time of the shooting, identified Clark from a photo lineup as the person he saw running through the yard on that night.

 

Later on – now the man-witness revealed in the podcast that his testimony was based on an ‘unrelated, factually similar shooting’ which he witnessed in 1976 and he stated that he never identified Clark as the individual in the yard, nor did he ever witness anyone in the yard on that night.

 

New Trial

 

NOW based on the two witnesses’ re-statements, New-Trial was ordered on the fresh pleadings challenge a wrongful conviction.

 

Clark now 43 was released from the Floyd County Jail after the Floyd County Superior Court Judge John Neidrach agreed the conviction should be overturned and all underlying charges against him dismissed, after evidence in the case was reexamined.

 

Story admitted to bringing the gun to Bowling’s home, was also released after accepting a plea deal for involuntary manslaughter. A 10-year sentence with time served, after spending 25 years in prison. He was also exonerated of murder charges.

 

Feeling of Storey

Storey told “He was afraid to go to sleep the first night after he was released and in case he would up and “realize it was all a dream”.

 

Feeling of Clark

Clark told “Never would I have thought I would spend more than half my life in prison, especially for something I didn’t do”.

 

Feeling of Clark’s dad

Clark’s father told “I watched my son go into prison as a kid, I watched him go through prison, I watched him come out as a man.”

 

Judge apologized

The New Trial Judge, Floyd County Superior Court Judge John Neidrach apologized on behalf of the State of Georgia and Floyd County during the court hearing. Clark said it was an important step towards healing.

 

After 25 years of wrongful imprisonment, 2 Georgia men set free after newly uncovered evidence exonerates them of murder charges.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/10/us/georgia-men-exonerated-wrongful-imprisonment/index.html

 

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