by Steve Wilson
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill into law on Friday that would allow families of murder victims to request a review of a cold case by law enforcement agencies.
House Bill 88, known as the Coleman-Baker Act, was passed unanimously by both chambers of the General Assembly on March 29. The bill is named after two murder victims — Rhonda Sue Coleman and Tara Louise Baker — whose unsolved cases galvanized support for the bill. Coleman was murdered in 1990 in Hazlehurst while Baker was killed in 2001 in Athens.
Under the new law, a cold case is defined as one where three years had passed since all leads had been exhausted and for which no likely perpetrator had been charged.
Once a review by immediate family members is requested, the law enforcement agency would be required to examine the investigative procedures to see if anything was missed and assess whether witnesses should be interviewed again. They would also be mandated to scrutinize physical evidence to ensure appropriate forensic testing and analysis was performed and whether additional testing might produce new information. The agency would have the discretion to reopen the investigation if the review concludes that a new investigation could result in new leads or a likely perpetrator.
The new law would also task the Carl Vinson Institute of Government of the University of Georgia to establish and maintain a case tracking system and searchable public website for cold cases and require law enforcement agencies to submit information on cases.
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Steve Wilson is a Regional Editor for The Center Square. Wilson has been an award-winning writer and editor for nearly 20 years at newspapers in Georgia, Florida and Mississippi and is a U.S. Coast Guard veteran and University of Alabama graduate.
Photo “Brian Kemp” by Brian Kemp. Background Photo “Georgia State Capitol” by Warren LeMay.
