Earlier this month, the Georgia Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling granting three Washington County MPs.
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ga .– TO UPDATE: The press conference has ended and you can see it in its entirety above.
The family of a Central Georgia man who died in 2017 after being verbally abused by MPs will speak on Tuesday morning for the first time since the state Supreme Court ruled that MPs could be prosecuted.
Eurie Martin, a 58-year-old from Washington County, died three years ago when family lawyers said he was walking home from Milledgeville in neighboring Baldwin County when he was approached by sheriff deputies.
Martin, whom the lawyers said allegedly dealt with mental health problems, did not respond to MPs’ orders. The lawyers said he was verbally abused more than 15 times in five minutes and died shortly after the incident.
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11Alives Macon sister station WMAZ has reported that Reps Henry Lee Copeland, Michael Howell and Rhett Scott, who were fired for the incident, claimed they berated Martin for fighting with them. However, they were sent a viewer video showing that this was not true.
They were charged with murder by major juries, among other things, but a lower court judge granted MPs immunity and cited it as a self-defense case.
The Georgia Supreme Court earlier this month suspended immunity and returned the case for trial.
“We note that in granting immunity, the court made material findings of fact that were inconsistent with its legal conclusions regarding the MP’s encounter with Martin. Unclear determinations of material facts as to whether any or all MPs used violence intended or likely to cause death, and failure to address the facts that are individually relevant to each of the three MPs. For these reasons, we are clearing up the court’s decision and referring the cases for further examination in accordance with this statement, ”reported the WMAZ in the court’s 30-page statement.
Martin’s family will hold a press conference outside the Georgia Supreme Court building in Atlanta at 11 a.m.