Three former Georgia sheriff’s deputies have been acquitted of murder and aggravated assault in the 2017 taser death of Eurie Lee Martin, according to GPB news. This ends their second criminal trial but leaves some lesser charges unresolved.​

A Washington County jury found ex-deputies Henry Lee Copeland, Michael Howell, and Rhett Scott not guilty of felony murder and aggravated assault in Martin’s in-custody death. Jurors could not reach unanimous verdicts on involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct charges against Copeland and Howell, resulting in a mistrial on those counts, while Scott was cleared on all remaining charges.​​

That fateful day, Martin, a 58-year-old Black man with schizophrenia, walked nearly 30 miles from a group home, in sweltering temperatures, to visit family for his birthday. 

He then stopped at resident Cyrus Harris Jr.’s home to ask for water, prompting the white homeowner to call 911. Deputies arrived and said Martin was walking illegally in the middle of road, and littering after dropping a soda can. He then refused to answer questions and resisted commands. 

Martin was then tased 15 times before being handcuffed and pronounced dead at the scene. 

An autopsy classified Martin’s death as a homicide; all three deputies were fired and indicted on felony murder and related charges in 2017, beginning an eight-year legal battle that included an initial grant of immunity, a 2020 Georgia Supreme Court reversal, and a first trial that ended in mistrial. 

At the latest trial, defense attorneys argued that because Martin committed minor offenses such as littering and walking in the middle of the road, deputies used reasonable force. While prosecutors countered that such low-level conduct should not warrant lethal outcomes, warning jurors against a community standard where people are “killed for littering” or walking in the street.​

“They want this to be the standard for your community: People killed for littering?” said prosecutor George Lipscomb to jurors. “People killed by walking in the street? Is that Washington County? Is this who you are?”  

Martin’s sister, Helen Gilbert, was defeated. “I’m just very disappointed,” Gilbert said. "After eight long years, I’m just very disappointed."

The family’s attorney, Francys Johnson, has vowed to pursue a federal civil suit.