State v. S.Z.

S.Z. was 18 years old when she was arrested Armed Robbery (4 counts), Aggravated Assault (4 counts), and Possession of Firearm During Commission of a Felony (3 counts).  She was sentenced to 20 years, with the first 10 years to be served in confinement.  There were 3 separate armed robbery incidents, occurring in a 2 day time span and there were 2 co-defendants involved in each incident. S.Z. was present during each armed robbery and pointed an AirSoft “gun” during one of the armed robberies, but no one was injured during any of these incidents. S.Z. was the youngest of all three involved in these incidents and she was not the “mastermind” behind any of them. While S.Z. didn’t immediately conform to life in prison (she received disciplinary reports for minor infractions, most at the beginning of her time in prison),  she quickly learned to follow the rules and focus on her education. She received glowing letters of recommendation, after completing her high school education and Associates Degree. 

Attorney Mann was able to have S.Z.’s sentence modified, with the District Attorney’s consent, under O.C.G.A. 17-10-6.1. After serving approximately 7.5 years, S.Z. was released and will serve the balance of her sentence on probation.

State v. F.E.

F.E. was sent to prison for a probation violation on an Armed Robbery, after being found guilty of new charges. GDC did not give F.E. credit for approximately 6 weeks that he spent in the county jail, because the sentencing judge did not indicate he should receive credit for that time towards his period of incarceration. The law in Georgia only requires that the time spent in jail be credited towards a person’s sentence (including probation), not their time in custody.

Almost 2 years later, Attorney Mann was able to have F.E.’s sentence modified by the Judge, giving him credit for that 6 weeks and he was released right when Covid-19 began to spread through the prisons.

State v. R.M.C.

Less than 60 days before R.M.C. was scheduled to be released on parole, he was issued a disciplinary report and found guilty involvement in an officer at the prison being stabbed. R.M.C.’s release date was in jeopardy and he was faced with the possibility of “maxing out” his sentence, by spending another 2 years in custody. Attorney Mann successfully argued that simply being found guilty of a prison disciplinary issue, without evidence that would be found credible in Superior Court, was not sufficient to keep her client in prison and R.M.C. returned home to his family, without any additional time spent in prison.

State v. P.L.D.

 P.L.D. was 13 years old when he was arrested for aggravated child molestation of his siblings. P.L.D. was himself a child, having barely started puberty when he was arrested. The State saw the allegations against him and looked no further, charging him as an adult. Attorney Mann refused to believe that this child was the monster that the State portrayed him to be. Months of developing the attorney/client relationship led to P.L.D. finally revealing the sexual abuse that he had suffered, which began before he started kindergarten. Despite being indicted as an adult in Superior court, P.L.D.’s case was sent back to Juvenile Court, where he was given the opportunity for intensive treatment, counseling and to continue his education before returning back to a stable home environment, all before his 18^th birthday.

State v. J.T.D

J.T.D. was 15 years old when he confessed to murdering a neighbor, an older man who was giving him and a friend a ride home. The victim’s body was found on the side of the road, abandoned after he was shot from behind. J.T.D. confessed after being told that his co-defendant had already spoken to police and implicated him in the murder. With her client facing the possibility of life without parole, Attorney Mann had to search beyond the newspaper headlines to learn the whole story behind what happened. By learning her client’s story and understanding what lead up to this tragic event, she was able to negotiate a sentence which makes J.T.D. eligible for parole, giving him something to live for, rather than settle for a life behind prison walls with nothing to lose.