Overview

• Senior Judge Henry M. Newkirk initially said “guilty” while reading the jury form before restating “not guilty” on all six counts.
• The case involved Alton Deshawn Oliver, 26, charged over the 2022 shooting death of Fulton County deputy James Thomas Jr.
• Confusion rippled through the courtroom as jurors and spectators reacted, prompting Newkirk to ask, “Didn’t I say not?”
• The jury acquitted Oliver after more than nine hours of deliberations, and the district attorney’s office said it respected the decision.
• News outlets published video of the moment, and the judge apologized in court, calling the error a “mispronunciation.”