Man wrongfully imprisoned for 25 years sues Floyd County

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  December 10, 2024 10:34pm EST
FOX 5 Atlanta

Cain Joshua Storey hugs his family after being released from prison on Dec. 8, 2022. (Georgia Innocence Project )

The Brief

    • Josh Storey, who was imprisoned for over 25 years for a murder he claims he didn't commit, is suing Floyd County for alleged misconduct by investigators.
    • Storey's conviction was overturned in 2022 when new evidence indicated the victim died playing Russian roulette, resulting in his release after a guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter for providing the gun.
    • Along with Storey, co-defendant Joey Clark, who was fully exonerated, has also filed a separate lawsuit against the same former Floyd County officers.
    • Both lawsuits are calling for accountability for what the plaintiffs describe as serious miscarriages of justice, in a state that lacks statutory compensation laws for those wrongfully convicted.

ROME, Ga. - A man who spent more than 25 years in prison for a crime he says he did not commit is suing Floyd County, alleging misconduct and coercion by investigators. Josh Storey, convicted in 1996 of murdering his friend Travis Bowling, claims he was coerced into admitting to the crime.

Storey’s conviction, along with that of co-defendant Joey Clark, was overturned in 2022 after evidence revealed that Bowling shot himself during a game of Russian roulette. Witness testimony initially implicated the two men, but no autopsy was conducted to verify the cause of Bowling’s death, according to the lawsuit.

Storey pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for providing the gun Bowling used and was released for time served. Clark, however, was fully exonerated. Storey is now suing Floyd County and several former investigators with the Floyd County Police Department, alleging multiple failures in the case.

Darrell Lee Clark, left, and Cain Joshua Storey, right, in 1996. (Family photos)

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Clark filed a separate lawsuit against Floyd County last month, naming the same former officers. Both lawsuits seek accountability for what they describe as serious miscarriages of justice.

The lawsuits also highlight Georgia’s lack of statutory compensation for the wrongfully convicted, one of only 12 states without such laws. According to the Innocence Project, the average compensation for wrongful imprisonment in Georgia is $39,000 per year, compared to $80,000 per year in Texas.

Cain Joshua Storey (Georgia Department of Corrections)

At the time of their release, both Storey and Clark were 43 years old. Storey’s lawsuit comes nearly two years after his release, as he continues to seek justice for what he says was a devastating and wrongful imprisonment.

The Source: Fulton County Superior Court records and previous FOX 5 Atlanta reports were used for this report. The links for the previous stories can be found in the article.