Couple are cleared of newborn s death after 12 years in jail because of gross misstatement by prosecutor after defense insisted baby s fatal head injuries happened naturally
Ashley and Albert Debelbot had their murder case formally dismissed on Tuesday, a year after Georgia Supreme Court overturned convictions
Debelbots spent more than 12 years in prison for the death of their newborn baby daughter, McKenzy Debelbot, in May 2008
Convictions were tossed over statements the prosecutor made at trial, to which Debelbots lawyers at the time failed to object
Prosecutor s closing statement to jurors reduced burden of proof from beyond reasonable doubt but the Debelbot s team did not speak up for them
Convictions in baby s death tossed; couple freed from prison
KATE BRUMBACK, Associated Press
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Ashley Debelbot poses for a photo in Columbus, Ga., on April 22, 2021. More than a decade after she and her husband were sentenced to life in prison in their newborn daughter s death, they re free and struggling to start over. The Georgia Supreme Court overturned their convictions, citing an error by the prosecutor at trial, and the new district attorney declined to retry them.Kate Brumback/AP
COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) Ashley and Albert Debelbot were sitting in the same courtroom where, more than a decade earlier, they were convicted of murdering their newborn daughter. The district attorney walked over and apologized.