Three Murder Convictions Vacated by High Court

The Georgia Supreme Court vacated three murder convictions stemming from a 2009 double homicide in Marietta after finding the judge that presided over the case should have recused himself from the trial.

Jarvis Butts, Desmond Post, Joseph Brown, and Rolaunda Fripp were all convicted of convicted of murder, armed robbery and aggravated assault in 2012 but three of them may soon receive new trials after the high court said Judge Reuben Green should have taken himself off the case.

Fripp and Darchelle Arnold allegedly lured three men to a vacant apartment in the now-demolished Las Colinas complex so that Butts, Post, and Brown could rob them. During the robbery, Brown allegedly shot and fatally wounded two of the victims. Arnold later testified against the others as part of a plea deal, the Marietta Daily Journal reports.

When Butts, Post, Brown, and Fripp first went on trial, defense lawyers argued Green should have recused himself from the case because he was working in the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office during the investigation into the murders, the MDJ says. Furthermore, the attorneys argued Green’s cozy relationship with then District Attorney Pat Head should have kept him out of the judge’s seat.

Green defended himself against the argument for his recusal, an act in and of itself that should have seen him recused, the high court ruled. Post’s conviction was vacated, meaning another judge will rule whether Green should have recused himself from the trial. If the judge rules that Green should have stepped aside, Post will get a new trial.

Fripp and Brown’s convictions were overturned and they will be re-tried in front of another superior court judge in Cobb County, according to the MDJ.