On an autumn evening in Winder, Georgia, the life of 34-year-old Brandon Lay was cut short in a fatal encounter with his own uncle by marriage, Paul Hamilton. The events of October 17, 2015, were set in motion when Hamilton, a former Barrow County magistrate judge, was led to believe that Lay had been stealing items from his property. This suspicion culminated in a deadly confrontation at the intersection of Charlie Hall Road and Old Hog Mountain Road, where Lay was found shot to death in his
vehicle.
Authorities quickly identified Hamilton as the suspect, and he was arrested in connection with the shooting. He faced serious charges, including felony murder, murder, and three counts of aggravated assault. The case proceeded to trial, and in October 2018, a jury found Hamilton guilty of felony murder and aggravated assault. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison for the death of his nephew.
In a stunning and highly unusual turn of events, the presiding judge, on the day of sentencing, overturned the jury's verdict and granted Hamilton a new trial. The judge expressed that he could not in good conscience let the conviction stand, citing his role as the '13th juror' and his belief that the evidence presented did not sufficiently support the guilty verdict. This decision was met with shock and dismay by both the prosecution and Lay's family. The state appealed this ruling, but in September 2019, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the lower court's decision, affirming that Hamilton was entitled to a new trial.
Following this decision, the legal saga continued, though details of the subsequent proceedings are less publicly documented. However, records from the Barrow County Jail indicate that on August 3, 2023, Paul Lamar Hamilton was booked as a 'Sentenced Inmate.' This suggests that a retrial or a plea agreement was reached, resulting in a conviction and sentencing. The specific details of the verdict and the length of the sentence from this later proceeding have not been widely reported.
