Marsha Colbey wins her appeal and is released

Marsha Colbey wins her appeal and is released after a prolonged struggle that exposes how a procedural failure can sustain a wrongful conviction even when the case against the prisoner cannot support a murder charge. A new trial does not immediately bring freedom: local officials threaten to prosecute her again, and further negotiations over the case and her prison-time credit postpone her release until December 2012.

The Appeal and the Right to an Impartial Jury

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Colbey’s conviction and sentence, a setback for her and the Equal Justice Initiative team. They sought review in the Alabama Supreme Court and won a new trial on a specific ground: the trial judge had refused to exclude people from jury service who were biased and could not be impartial. The ruling made the fairness of the jury—not merely the strength of the evidence—a decisive issue in Colbey’s case.

A New Trial and the Threat of Reprosecution

The victory did not end the danger of another prosecution. Colbey and her team were thrilled by the order for a new trial, but officials in Baldwin County, Alabama, were less pleased and threatened to bring the case again. The possibility of retrial left the legal victory unresolved: Colbey had won the right to challenge her conviction, but still faced the prospect of being tried once more.

Expert pathologists helped change that prospect. Stevenson’s team persuaded local authorities that there was no basis on which to convict Colbey of murder. The case took two years to settle. The defense thus had to do more than secure appellate relief; it also had to confront the threatened prosecution and persuade local officials that a murder conviction could not stand.

Delayed Release and Its Consequences

Even after the legal case was settled, Colbey was not immediately freed. Stevenson’s team spent another year wrangling with the Alabama Department of Corrections to ensure that she received full credit for the time she had already served. She was finally released in December 2012, after ten years of wrongful imprisonment. The final delay shows how relief in court and release from prison were separate hurdles: winning a new trial and resolving the prosecution did not by themselves correct the administrative record keeping her confined.

Advocacy During Imprisonment

Colbey’s story in prison was not limited to her own case. Despite the challenges she faced, she began advocating for some of the younger women around her. Her appeal and release therefore mark both a legal reversal and the end of a decade of confinement, while the account also records her concern for other imprisoned women. The outcome restores Colbey’s freedom, but its slow arrival makes clear how much work was required after the appellate victory to turn a new trial into release.