On a January evening in 2000, what initially appeared to be a single-vehicle accident on Highway 27 between Rome and Cedartown, Georgia, quickly turned into a homicide investigation. The driver, 21-year-old Isaac Dawkins, was found seriously injured and rushed to a local hospital. It was there that X-rays revealed a grim reality: Dawkins had been shot in the head while driving his truck. He succumbed to his injuries shortly after. The investigation into the death of the young male initially focused on an individual who had a past dispute with Dawkins over a mutual girlfriend.
Early in the investigation, Joey Watkins was identified as a person of interest. He had been driving on the same highway that night and had a known history of conflict with Dawkins. Despite this, the Rome Police Department initially cleared him as a suspect. However, as the case grew cold, Dawkins' family advocated for a new lead investigator. The case was then assigned to a sergeant with the Floyd County Police Department. A significant shift in the investigation occurred when a $10,000 reward was offered for information, leading to a jailhouse informant coming forward. Twelve months after Dawkins' death, Joey Watkins and his friend, Mark Free, were charged with murder.
The prosecution's theory was that Watkins and Free had intercepted Dawkins' truck. An eyewitness to the incident reported seeing a small, older model blue car driving aggressively near Dawkins' vehicle just before the crash. The state contended that Watkins, after leaving his home in his white pickup truck, met up with Free, switched to a small blue Honda, and then pursued Dawkins. According to the prosecution, Watkins shot Dawkins while driving alongside him and speaking to his girlfriend on his cell phone. They alleged he then switched back to his own truck before arriving at his girlfriend's house.
Despite the conviction and a life sentence for Watkins in 2001, there were significant problems with the state's case from the outset. Several witnesses could account for Watkins being in his white truck both before and after the time of the murder, and cell phone records supported his alibi that he was miles away when the shooting occurred. After years of appeals, the Georgia Innocence Project took on Watkins' case, uncovering issues of juror misconduct and suppressed evidence. In 2022, the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously voted in favor of a new trial for Watkins. He was released on bond in January of the following year, and by September, the charges against him were dismissed, leading to his full exoneration after more than two decades behind bars. Following his release, Watkins filed a lawsuit against Floyd County and several law enforcement investigators, alleging they deliberately falsified and concealed evidence to wrongfully convict him.
