Joey Watkins - Exonerated and Free After 22 Years

Help Joey rebuild his life after losing over 22 years to wrongful conviction and imprisonment.

Eight months after his release from prison—over 22 years since his wrongful conviction—Joey Watkins is finally free. He and his legal team had been preparing for potential re-trial for several months, when on September 21, 2023 the Floyd County District Attorney’s Office sought court approval to dismiss all charges against Joey. Later that day, a Rome Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge signed an order dismissing the charges, thereby officially exonerating Joey!

This hard-fought outcome took a massive effort over many years by Joey and his family, lawyers at Georgia Innocence Project and co-counsel Meagan Hurley (Mercer Law Habeas Clinic), Ben Goldberg, and Noah Pines, as well as Susan Simpson and the Undisclosed podcast and countless supporters!

Since his release, Joey has spent time at home with his family, who missed him dearly. He’s also been working at his family’s used car business, Watkins Auto. While no longer in prison, however, for the last nine months Joey was not truly free. He was required to wear an ankle monitor that entire time, could not go fishing in Alabama, could not go hunting in Georgia, could not have a beer, could not talk to anyone on the state’s witness list, and had to wake up each morning with the cloud of murder charges still hanging over his head, as his legal team worked to prepare for re-prosecution and re-trial of crimes Joey did not commit.

With the exoneration news on September 21, 2023, Watkins promptly had his ankle monitor removed and commented on how wonderful it was for each of his ankles to finally be the same weight again! Now that the threat of re-prosecution is no longer weighing him down, Joey can finally relax and focus on rebuilding his life in freedom.

“I’m a little fuzzy right now–words cannot describe how grateful I am,” shared Joey while celebrating the day he heard the news.

Though the future for Joey is bright and he is working hard to set himself up for success, there's still a long road ahead. He spent 22 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Unfortunately, Georgia is one of 12 states that does not currently have statutory right to financial compensation for people who were locked in prison for years or decades for crimes they did not commit. Exonerees like Joey are often left on their own, with virtually no support from the State, to rebuild their lives.

GIP has set up this personal, private fundraiser on Joey's behalf, so you can donate directly to Joey and help him get financially back on his feet. With your support, Joey can use these funds to establish medical care, secure basic necessities, pay for critical services, and support himself and his family long-term. These funds, which go directly to Joey, do not go to Georgia Innocence Project or a 501c3 organization, and therefore are not tax deductible.

REMINDER: Your contributions via this GoFundMe fundraiser will go directly to Joey Watkins and are not tax-deductible.