05 LC 29
1625
House
Resolution 95
By:
Representatives Bordeaux of the
162nd
and Sims of the
169th
A
RESOLUTION
Compensating
Mr. Samuel H. Scott; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS,
on the morning of February 1, 1986, a woman named Donna Givens in Savannah,
Georgia, was kidnapped, raped, and robbed by three unknown assailants;
and
WHERAS,
Mr. Samuel Scott was then happily married with children working as a
Longshoreman, earning decent and honest pay, in Savannah, Georgia;
and
WHEREAS,
on June 11, 1986, Mr. Samuel Scott was indicted by the Grand Jury of Chatham
County for the rape, robbery, and kidnapping of Donna Givens; and
WHEREAS,
Mr. Scott was arrested in November of 1986 and served time in Chatham County
Jail until a trial was scheduled before a jury in the Superior Court of Chatham
County; and
WHEREAS,
on March 26, 1987, Mr. Scott was tried and convicted of rape and kidnapping in
Chatham County, Georgia; and
WHEREAS,
at his trial Mr. Scott testified that he was not guilty of the kidnapping and
rape of the woman in Savannah, Georgia, and two witnesses corroborated Mr.
Scott́s
testimony; and
WHEREAS,
on March 26, 1987, the court sentenced Mr. Scott to life in prison for rape plus
20 years for kidnapping, the sentences to run concurrently; and
WHEREAS,
on February 4, 1988, the Court of Appeals affirmed Mr.
Scott́s
convictions and, on February 19, 1988, denied a motion for a rehearing;
and
WHEREAS,
in July of 2001, DNA testing conducted on behalf of Mr. Scott at Forensic
Science Associates in California conclusively proved that Mr.
Scott́s
DNA did not match the DNA from the semen obtained from the
victiḿs
rape kit; and
WHEREAS,
on July 19, 2001, the scientific evidence was presented to the District
Attorneýs
Office of Chatham County, and, after further testing by the Georgia State Crime
Lab, the state consented to Mr.
Scott́s
extraordinary motion for a new trial on June 3, 2002; and
WHEREAS,
on October 7, 2002, the indictments against Mr. Scott for rape and kidnapping
were finally dismissed; and
WHEREAS,
Mr. Scott was imprisoned for 14 years and five months at the Jack T. Rutledge
State Prison before being transferred to D. Ray James Correctional Facility
where he was eventually released on parole; and
WHEREAS,
Mr. Scott was required to wear an electronic ankle monitor and he experienced
severe financial difficulties making the required payments for the monitor due
to being a convicted sex offender, and was ordered to spend additional time in
prison for his failure to pay for the electronic ankle monitor; and
WHEREAS,
Mr. Scott has suffered loss of liberty, personal injury, injury to reputation,
emotional distress, and other damages as a result of approximately 16 years of
incarceration and expenses totaling $1.2 million; and
WHEREAS,
because the conviction, incarceration, and subsequent loss of liberty and other
damages occurred through no fault or negligence on the part of Mr. Scott, it is
only fitting and proper that he be compensated for his extraordinary
loss.
NOW
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that the Department
of Corrections is authorized and directed to pay the sum of $1.2 million to Mr.
Samuel Scott, as compensation as provided above. Said sum shall be paid from
funds appropriated to or available to said Department of Corrections and shall
be in full and complete satisfaction of all claims against the state arising out
of said occurrence.