Report: Authorities Release Man Never Convicted of Crime After Waiting in Jail for Over 10 Years

Maurice Jimmerson was released Wednesday by Georgian authorities on a plea deal after spending over ten years of his life locked up without a conviction, Atlanta News First reported.

Georgian police arrested Jimmerson and four other suspects in relation to the murder of two persons back in May 2013, the outlet reported.

While nearly all of the suspects were acquitted by juries years previously, Jimmerson remained locked up without trial and without an attorney, the outlet reported. Andrew Fleischman reportedly took up Jimmerson’s case pro bono after hearing about the case through an investigation by Atlanta News First back in 2023.

“You don’t need to have a law degree to know something’s wrong is here,” Fleischman told the outlet. “We should not punish people until we’ve proven they’ve committed a crime.”

Two months after Fleischman took the case, Jimmerson went to court, resulting in a mistrial due to the jury being unable to deliver a verdict, Atlanta News First reported. He was reportedly returned to jail. Jimmerson’s release Wednesday was part of a negotiated plea deal where he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and possession of a firearm in exchange for being sentenced to 30 years of probation with 11 years already counted as served, according to the outlet.

This was my very first murder trial as first chair. I cannot tell you how much sleep I lost over it. I am so thrilled he got this result.

— Andrew Fleischman (@ASFleischman) March 20, 2024

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