Georgia man wrongfully convicted of killing army veteran may be acquitted over 70 years later

A court hearing will be held on Thursday to decide whether a judge will dismiss the murder charge of a decades-old black man accused of killing a decades-old Georgia white man.

Three all-white jurors convicted Clarence Henderson of the murder of Carl “Buddy” Stevens in Carroll County on Halloween night in 1948. Stevens, an army veteran, was killed while protecting his girlfriend, Nan Turner, from a masked man who tried to rape her. It is reported by FOX Atlanta.

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Henderson, a sharecropper, said he was at home with his wife at the time of the murder. He was found guilty in three separate trials.

“The first trial lasted one day. He was convicted in one day,” said Henderson’s great-grandson, Brandon Henderson.

The Georgia Supreme Court overturned every conviction for lack of evidence, while the county never formally dismissed the charges. Henderson spent five years in prison for this crime. Since then, the case has languished for more than 70 years.

In January, the Carroll County District Attorney’s office asked a judge to drop charges against Henderson, who died more than 40 years ago, due to insufficient evidence.

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“I am very grateful to the criminal justice system for allowing this to happen, but I wish it had happened sooner,” said Brandon Henderson.