![43-year-old Georgia man who spent over half his life in prison "cried like a baby" after murder charges dropped](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2023/09/25/13e3bdbe-69ce-498d-8511-7b0ca917b469/thumbnail/1200x630/144fb5ed79c60fffa52bb4cfeeec3465/joey-watkins.jpg?v=f5251b37272e6b1bc4e5456ab4445a67)
43-year-old Georgia man who spent over half his life in prison "cried like a baby" after murder charges dropped
CBSN
A judge dismissed a murder charge against a Georgia man who spent more than 20 years in prison, ending a decadeslong legal fight to exonerate him.
The Floyd County judge dismissed the case at the request of the district attorney, who decided not to bring Joey Watkins to trial again after his initial conviction was vacated. The Georgia Innocence Project and other attorneys waged a lengthy fight to overturn the conviction.
Watkins and his attorneys said they wept as they called him to say the charges were being dropped.
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On the eve of the D-Day invasion, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower spent the remaining hours of daylight with the paratroopers who were about to jump behind German lines into occupied France. A single moment captured by an Army photographer became the most enduring image of America's greatest military operation.
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This story previously aired on March 6, 2016. Child Advocate: Do you know why you are here today? 911 operator: 911. What is your emergency? 911 operator: Is there anybody else in the house with you? Robin Doan [to 911]: I so hope my mom is not dead. Robin Doan [to 911]: Please can you just send somebody out here? Robin Doan [to 911]: I'm cold. I'm very cold. Robin Doan [to 911]: I heard my mama scream ... Robin Doan [to 911]: I want my mom. I want my mom. Robin Doan [to 911]: It's on Highway 70. It's about 13.3 miles out from the bowling alley. I have a purple shirt on I have purple pants on. Robin Doan [to 911]: All I want right now is my blanket and my pillow. ... I see him. I see him. Robin Doan [advocate interview]: I really don't want to go to sleep anymore. It makes me to where I'm too scared. I really don't want to go to sleep. OK. Robin Doan [advocate interview]: He had shot in my room and missed me. Advocate: Did you hear anybody say anything. Could you hear anybody talking? Robin Doan [advocate interview]: I don't know this for sure but I thought I saw a white eyes ... a white face. Robin Doan [advocate interview]: And when he shot I saw a flash. Robin Doan [advocate interview]: I can't talk about it. It's too heartbreaking. Levi King interrogation: Before I even realized it, I mean, I'd just pointed it at him and fired.