After two decades behind bars and with few options left, Marquez Powell sat down several years ago and wrote a letter from a rural Georgia prison more than 100 miles from his Atlanta home. It would eventually help win his freedom.
After being prosecuted at the age of 20, Powell, now 41, was released after a judge overturned his sentence of life plus five years on murder charges in the death of his best friend, Shah Walton – charges that prosecutors later agreed were unfounded.
“After reviewing the entire case, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit determined there was not enough evidence to stand by Powell’s conviction,” the DA’s office said in a filing with a court in Atlanta, as all charges against Powell were dismissed on June 18.
Powell’s first taste of freedom came after years of appeals and denials, a grueling climb that turned when prosecutors took a fresh look and concluded they had made a grave mistake.
“That was definitely the first time where a prosecutor has brought us a case,” attorney Christina Cribbs with the Georgia Innocence Project told CNN.
