ATLANTA — A hunter convicted of murder for fatally shooting his brother has been released from a Georgia prison.
Joshua Hames was freed Tuesday, just one day after Georgia’s Supreme Court overturned his conviction after 7 years behind bars. Hames’ attorney, Holly Pierson, said that Hames will be spending time with family.
He had argued that he thought he was shooting a bobcat or a large animal during a 2002 deer hunting trip on the family’s farm in Walton County. Instead, he fatally shot his brother Sam.
He was prosecuted under a state law allowing prosecutors to pursue felony charges against a hunter if he seriously injures another person using a weapon by knowingly disregarding a serious risk.