Michael Marshall plead guilty of a robbery he didn’t commit in order to avoid a much harsher sentence. In 2009, he was released from prison and the charges against him were dismissed.

The Crime

On November 3, 2007, a woman and her son were home in Hapeville, Georgia, when they heard a vehicle and a commotion outside. The woman ran outside and saw a man with a gun sitting inside her truck. The man pointed the gun at her and told her to get back inside; he then drove away.

The woman’s son, who had followed her outside, immediately called the police. As they were driving to the house, the police spotted the stolen vehicle. Police gave chase and caught up with the truck; however, the robber jumped out and ran into the woods before he could be apprehended. He left behind a cell phone, a cell phone case, and a T-shirt.

The Investigation and Plea

The woman’s son described a middle-aged black attacker with short hair, about 5’5” to 5’7” and 140 to 150 pounds, although he admitted that he had only seen him from behind. The officers who chased the perpetrator also provided descriptions to a police sketch artist. 

The investigation stalled for ten days, until police noticed a homeless man sleeping in the hallway of an apartment complex located about a mile from the crime scene. That man was 41-year-old Michael Marshall, a native of Alabama, and the officers thought that he strongly resembled the sketch of the robber.

Police then conducted a “show-up” with the son, in which Marshall was taken to the scene of the crime and identified. In a photo lineup conducted later with the truck’s owner, she could not positively identify him.

Marshall was charged with aggravated assault, armed robbery, possession of a firearm during a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (he had previously been convicted of burglary).

Marshall’s attorney requested that the eyewitness’ identification be suppressed; when a judge refused, Marshall, potentially facing decades in prison, plead guilty and was sentenced to four years.

Post-Conviction

In June 2008, the Georgia Innocence Project received a letter from Marshall, in which he claimed, “I plead guilty out of being scared.” The Georgia Innocence Project obtained a court order to test Marshall’s DNA against that found on evidence from the crime: the cell phone, cell phone case, and shirt. The testing excluded Marshall as the source of the DNA and matched the real perpetrator.

On December 14, 2009, a superior court judge signed an order releasing Marshall from prison, dismissing all charges against him.