ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia’s highest court has upheld a lower court’s decision throwing out a man’s convictions on murder and arson charges.
Georgia Supreme Court Justice Robert Benham wrote in a unanimous opinion published Monday that Justin W. Chapman’s convictions must be thrown out because prosecutors suppressed evidence that would have been favorable to Chapman’s case, which violates a 1963 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Chapman is entitled to a new trial.
Chapman was charged in a fire at the duplex where he lived, killing a woman who lived in the other part of the duplex.
A jury in June 2007 found Chapman guilty of murder and arson. He was sentenced to serve life in prison.
Chapman challenged the constitutionality of his conviction and a court in January 2014 threw out his murder conviction.
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