Troutman Pepper has been named a recipient of the Page Pate Exemplar of Service Award from the Georgia Innocence Project. The firm was recognized for the critical role it played in the exoneration of Devonia Inman, who was wrongfully convicted of robbing and killing a Taco Bell manager in South Georgia. Award recipients were honored during the nonprofit’s 20th Anniversary Freedom Celebration Dinner on October 6.
Since 2016, a team of Troutman Pepper attorneys partnered with the Georgia Innocence Project to serve as counsel to Inman, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole for a 1998 crime he did not commit. Last December, after 23 years of wrongful imprisonment, Inman walked out of Augusta State Medical Prison a free man just in time to spend Christmas with his family. The core Troutman Pepper pro bono team who devoted more than five years to Inman’s exoneration included Tom Reilly, Tiffany Bracewell, Kasia Hebda, Majda Muhic, and Alan Long, assisted by many others.
“Our team is privileged to have played a role in Devonia’s exoneration and to work at a firm that remains committed to important pro bono matters like this,” said Reilly. “We are humbled by this award and look forward to continuing our support of the Georgia Innocence Project and the critical work they do for the wrongfully convicted.”
The Georgia Innocence Project is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals who have been convicted of crimes they did not commit in the state of Georgia. The nonprofit works to prevent and correct wrongful convictions while also connecting freed clients to resources to rebuild their lives. Learn more at georgiainnocenceproject.org.
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