Man released after wrongful conviction in 1998 murder of Georgia Taco Bell manager

AUGUSTA, Ga. — For 23 years, Devonia Inman sat in an Augusta jail cell convicted in a 1998 murder that he didn’t commit.

On Monday, the 43-year-old walked out a free man just in time for Christmas. It comes nearly eight years after new DNA evidence in the case was found.

“I spent 23 years behind bars for something I didn’t do,” Inman told the Georgia Innocence Project, who helped with his case. “It took a really long time to fix, even though it was so clear I wasn’t guilty. I’m glad I get to finally go home, and I’m grateful to everyone who helped make that possible.”

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In 1998, Taco Bell manager Donna Brown was robbed and shot in the parking lot of the Abel, Georgia fast food restaurant.

The killer stole $1,700 and the manager’s car, which was later found abandoned with a “distinctive” ski mask. Police arrested and charged Inman in Brown’s murder.

During his 2001 trial, the state argue that he wore the ski mask as he killed Brown. Inman’s attorney said he had an alibi and there was a lack of physical evidence. The legal team also tried to present evidence that another man, Hercules Brown, was responsible.

However, the judge wouldn’t let the jury hear about the other man. Inman was sentenced to life without parole.

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Over the years, the Georgia Innocence Project worked on Inman’s case and secured DNA testing on the ski mask in 2014. The DNA results did not match Inman’s but it did match Hercules Brown.

Three witnesses also recanted their testimony.

The Georgia Innocence Project tried to get a new trial for Inman and present the evidence against Brown. Judge Buster McConnell, who was the judge in the original trial, denied the motion.

Inman tried several times to appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court, but his attempts were denied.

Earlier this year, a break for Inman finally came. Attorneys from Troutman Pepper filed a petition for habeas corpus relief. The judge granted the petition and ordered the state to give Inman a new trial.

After a 30-day appeal window, the Georgia attorney general’s office did not appeal the decision. The local district attorney dismissed the charges against Inman, which was signed off on by Chief Judge Clayton Tomlinson.

“We are elated to see Devonia and his family finally obtain the justice that so many have fought for so long to secure. We are privileged to have played a part in his long overdue exoneration, and to work at a firm committed to critically important pro bono matters like this,” said Inman’s lawyers.

Georgia is one of only 13 states that does not currently have a statutory compensation law to provide financial relief for years lost to wrongful conviction, according to the Georgia Innocence Project.

Inman is originally from California and plans to reunite with his family out there with support from innocence project groups.

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