Two men from Georgia will be spending their first Christmas at home in 25 years after a podcast revealed how their convictions were based on evidence that had been manufactured.
Darrell Lee Clark and Cain Joshua Storey were both 17-years-old when they were arrested for the 1996 shooting death of 15-year-old Brian Bowling.
Bowling was killed from a gunshot wound to the head on October 18, 1996 while sitting on his bed in his parent’s trailer home, together with his best friend, Cain Storey.
Police believed Storey’s account at first, but later charged him with manslaughter after a woman testified that he and Clark planned it.
Over 20 years later, two podcasters re-opened the case. Susan Simpson and Jacinda Davis began interviewing old witnesses, and, much like the characters in the show Only Murders in the Building, were able to solve a crime through their amateur sleuthing.
Lee Clark and Josh Storey are pictured on Thursday having walked out of a Floyd County court as free men. After 25 years behind bars they are finally home
In the seconds before the gun was fired, Bowling was speaking with his girlfriend and told her that he was playing a game of Russian roulette with a weapon which had been brought to his house by Storey who was witness to the shooting.
Although police first believed Storey’s account that the shooting was accidental, he was still charged with manslaughter.
Despite circumstances strongly indicating Bowling had tragically and accidentally shot himself in the head, police began to look at the death as a homicide following pressure from Bowling’s distraught family.
Months later, the charge was indeed upgraded to murder and Clark was also charged as a co-conspirator after police spoke to a woman who told police that she hosted a party months after Bowling’s shooting where Clark and Storey were both in attendance.
The woman, Angela Bruce, alleged that the teens had revealed how they planned to murder Bowling because he knew too much about a prior theft that Storey and Clark had committed.
Clark was identified from a photo lineup by a hearing and speech impaired man, Charlie Childers, who had been at the Bowling’s home on the night of the shooting.
Things suddenly turned around in late 2021, when podcasters Jacinda Davis, left, and Susan Simpson started to interview witnesses related to the case as part of a re-investigation of the circumstances of Bowling’s death
Darrell Lee Clark, left, and Cain Joshua Storey, pictured at the time the shooting occurred
The entire story has been serialized as a 17 part podcast telling the story from start to finish
He testified to have seen Clark running through Bowling’s yard following the shooting, yet none of the other people present at the home on the night of the shooting reported seeing anyone outside.
At Clark and Storey’s trial in January of 1998, the State’s theory relied upon the party hostess’ police statement that suggested that the two teens conspired to kill Bowling in an act of revenge.
Clark and Storey were sentenced to life in prison.
Things suddenly turned around in late 2021, when Simpson and Davis started to interview witnesses related to Clark’s case as part of a re-investigation of the circumstances of Bowling’s death.
They interviewed both of the State’s key witnesses and discovered two pieces of information had been previously unknown to Clark or his counsel.
Bowling was killed from a gunshot wound to the head on October 18, 1996 while sitting on his bed in his parent’s trailer home, together with his best friend, Cain Storey
The shooting occurred in October 1996 when a gunshot rattled the walls of a double-wide trailer, pictured above, on the outskirts of Rome, Georgia
Photos taken at the crime scene show the condition of the room, the window beside Brian’s bed, and a blue pillow/couch cushion
Photos from the scene of the crime were also re-examined during the podcast
Bowling’s room, where his death occurred following a shooting as part of a game of Russian roulette
Darrell Lee Clark, left, and Cain Joshua Storey are seen in more recent mugshot photos
It revealed how the party hostess, Angela Bruce, was coerced into giving false statements and testimony over the remarks Storey and Clark purportedly made. Police even threatened that they would take away her children from her if she failed to comply with their demands.
When approached by Simpson and Davis, Bruce immediately recanted her testimony explaining how she testified in the manner she did to protect her family.
She added how investigators made threats towards her, approached her for sexual favors and had threatened to call the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services State Office to have her children taken away.
The podcasters also were able to find a witness who corroborated Bruce’s fear of retaliation by police.
Cain Joshua Storey cries in court when he found out he would be exonerated of the 25 year murder charge
Storey can be seen breaking down in tears as his conviction is overturned
Darrell Lee Clark was released from the Floyd County Jail on Thursday
Clark was released on Thursday after the Rome Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office and Floyd County Superior Court Judge John Neidrach agreed his conviction should be overturned
Secondly, a witness who was said in court to have seen Clark running through the Bowling’s yard was hearing and speech-impaired and had his words twisted during the trial.
Decades earlier, in 1976, he had witnessed an unrelated but factually similar shooting and was unable to separate the facts of that case from Bowling’s 1996 shooting death.
Simpson and Davis discovered Clark’s testimony was based on the crime he had witnessed years earlier.
Childers had never specifically identified Clark as having run through the Bowling’s yard when Bowling was shot, and he had never observed any boy outside in the first place.
He also explained that he did not know what Clark or Storey had done or why they had gone to jail, nor had he picked Clark out of photo lineup despite an investigator testifying so.
This newly-discovered evidence shattered the State’s theory of Clark’s involvement in the shooting death of Bowling and strongly supported what Clark had been telling everyone for more than 25 years that he was entirely innocent.
The podcast also found several other lapses when it came to the presentation of the State’s evidence including some by the coroner, who was not trained as a medical doctor. No autopsy was ever performed on Bowling’s body.
The courtroom erupted in applause following the overturning of Clark and Storey’s conviction
Darrell Lee Clark can be seen as he is led out of the Floyd County Jail on his walk to freedom
Lee Clark, right, embraces family and friends immediately after his release from jail
Lee Clark embraces his father, Glenn, following his release on Thursday
The coroner testified that his ‘gut feeling’ told him that the gunshot wound could not have been self-inflicted because it was not a close-contact wound.
Clark’s attorneys largely presented this fresh evidence of police misconduct during the initial investigation into the case and noted the threats that were made to both a main witness and other witness manipulation.
Senior Attorney Christina Cribbs and Accountability Counsel Meagan Hurley were able to convince the district attorney and a superior court judge that the evidence needed to be re-examined. In the end, Clark was exonerated of all charges.
‘We are elated to see Lee and his family finally obtain the justice that is so long overdue. This would not have been possible without the Bowling family’s support and a district attorney’s office that was willing to take an objective, new look at an old case,’ said Senior Attorney Christina Cribb.
‘The Bowling family suffered a great loss when Brian died. Their strength, open minds, willingness to question information that has been presented as ‘fact,’ and quest for the truth is inspiring.’
‘Official misconduct was certainly a contributing factor in Lee’s case, just as it has been in over 50% of wrongful conviction cases. What we should take away from this is that unfettered power, without proper checks and balances, leaves ripe the opportunity for mistakes and misconduct. Proper oversight, coupled with educational initiatives designed to prevent and correct wrongful convictions, is key,’ added Accountability Counsel Meagan Hurley who acted on behalf of Clark.
‘Prosecutors have a duty to see that justice is done in their cases, and that must include a commitment to principles of integrity, equity, and accountability. It is imperative that they are willing to take corrective action when they see injustice, including when the injustice is perpetrated by police.’
Darrell Lee Clark and Cain Joshua Storey are headline news in Georgia following their release
Jacinda Davis and Susan Simpson began their podcast in March 2022
‘You never think something like that is going to happen to you,’ said Clark upon his release.
‘Never would I have thought I would spend more than half my life in prison, especially for something I didn’t do. I’m just glad the truth finally came to light after 25 years. I’m so thankful for the Georgia Innocence Project and Proof Podcast for what they did. Without them, I would still be in prison.’
‘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,’ said Clark’s father Glenn.
‘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.’
Storey’s charges were reduced to his original manslaughter charge and was given 10 years with credit for time served.
His conviction will also be officially wiped from his record under Georgia’s First Offender Act.
Sadly, the State of Georgia does not have a statutory compensation law to provide financial relief for years lost to wrongful conviction. An online fundraiser has been set up to help Clark move forward with his like now that he is a free man and his conviction has been quashed.