FLOYD COUNTY, Ga. — After spending over half of his waking days in a prison cell, a Floyd County man was exonerated of all charges and released to spend his first Christmas at home with his family in over two decades.
Darrell Lee Clark was arrested as a co-conspirator at 17 years old in the alleged murder of his friend in 1996, 15-year-old Brian Bowling. And on Thursday night, thanks to newly discovered evidence, the Georgia Innocence Project and Proof Podcast, he walked out of the Floyd County Jail, an innocent man.
"I'm just glad the truth finally came to light after 25 years," Darrell said. "I'm so thankful for the Georgia Innocence Project and Proof Podcast for what they did. Without them, I would still be in prison."
New evidence came to light regarding police misconduct during the initial investigation of the case, "including threats made to a main witness and other witness manipulation."
“Official misconduct was certainly a contributing factor in Lee’s case, just as it has been in over 50% of wrongful conviction cases," Senior Attorney Christina Cribbs and Accountability Counsel Meagan Hurley said, one of the lawyers who represented Darrell.
When Darrell walked out of jail and was reunited with his family, he said it was truly the "greatest day of his life."
“I’ve always wanted to win the lottery. I just won the lottery," his dad said. "Best thing to happen to me in my life. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
Glen Clark, Darrell's father, said he's looking most forward to going hunting with his son, something he's now waited decades to do. And Darrell said he plans to go to many NASCAR races now that he's out.
“Twenty-five years ago, I took him up there, just thinking this is just a big mistake or whatever," Glen said. "That is the last time I saw my son out outside the walls. And I've been living. I've been living with this -- for 25 years a part of me was locked up with him.”
The battle for freedom was a long one for Darrell, but he wanted to give hope to those still fighting for their innocence behind bars.
“Let them know not to lose hope. Don’t ever lose hope. Stay focused," Darrell said. "If you keep believing, it’s going to come about one day.”
Initial Investigation and Trial
Brian Bowling, a 15-year-old teen, died from a gunshot wound to the head in his bedroom back in 1996. He was on the phone with his girlfriend when the shot was fired, moments after telling her he was playing Russian Roulette. He told her the firearm came from his best friend, 17-year-old Cain Joshua Storey (Darrell Lee Clark's co-defendant). He was in the room when the shooting happened.
When police started their investigation, they initially believed Storey's account of events. He told officers that it was accidental and that Bowling had "tragically and accidentally shot himself in the head." Storey faced a manslaughter charge in connection to his friend's death, but months after, police began investigating it as a homicide.
The Party Hostess
Police had two main witnesses in their case, including a woman that lived near the Bowling's home. The woman told officers that while she was hosting a party months after the shooting, teenagers Darrell and Storey "had planned the murder of Bowling because he knew too much about a prior theft that Storey and Clark had committed."
This was the first time Darrell was connected to the case. After speaking with the party hostess, police decided it was necessary to upgrade Storey's charges to murder and arrest Darrell as his co-conspirator, "despite the fact that he had a corroborated alibi," Georgia Innocence Project said.
Their second witness was a hearing and speech-impaired witness who was in another part of the house when the shooting happened.
"Police claimed the man identified Clark from a photo lineup as a boy he saw running through the Bowling’s yard on the night of the shooting. However, none of the other people present at the Bowling home on the night of the incident reported seeing anyone outside." Georgia Innocence Project said.
The two teens were taken to court, and after a week-long trial, the jury convicted Darrell Lee Clark and Joshua Storey of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, and they were sentenced to life in prison.
New Evidence
It wasn't until 2021, when podcasters Susan Simpson and Jacinda Davis started interviewing witnesses related to the case, that they discovered two critical pieces of information that led to Darrell's release.
1. The party hostess was coerced into giving false statements and testimony regarding the remarks about Storey and Darrell Lee Clark; police threatened that they would take her children from her if she failed to comply with their demands.
2. The hearing and speech-impaired man had been misunderstood at trial due to his unique communication. In 1976, the man had witnessed an unrelated, factually similar shooting, and he could not effectively separate the facts of that case from the circumstances surrounding Bowling’s 1996 shooting death.
In fact, the man never identified Darrell as having run through the Bowling’s yard when Bowling was shot, as he had never observed any boy outside in the first place.
Below | Darrell Lee Clark reunites with family after 25 years of wrongful imprisonment
"What we should take away from this is that unfettered power, without proper checks and balances, leaves ripe the opportunity for mistakes and misconduct," Hurley said. "Proper oversight, coupled with educational initiatives designed to prevent and correct wrongful convictions, is key."
With that, the State's theory was shattered, and after 25 years, people will finally believe what Darrell has said all along - he's innocent.
"I've been waiting on this day for a long, long time, and I can't begin to thank everyone who has supported us. Without y'all, we wouldn't have made it,” Darrell's father, Glen, said. “While today is a day of celebration for us, I also want to let the Bowling family know how heavy our hearts are for them, and for what happened. There are no hard feelings; we love them."
An online fundraiser was set up to raise money for Darrell and his family; the money will go directly to him and is not tax-deductible. Storey was also released from jail, with the judge agreeing that he'd, too, served his time.