Attorneys for former Gwinnett police officer convicted of 1993 murder argues evidence was withheld, constitutional rights violated

A former Gwinnett County police officer who was convicted nearly three decades ago of killing an elderly woman is asking a judge in southeast Georgia to consider whether his constitutional rights were violated during his trial, arguing that he was the victim of an alleged conspiracy involving officials in Gwinnett.

Attorneys for Michael Chapel filed the Habeas Corpus petition in Long County last week. Chapel was convicted in 1995 of killing Emogene Thompson, who was murdered while she was sitting in her car at a muffler shop on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Sugar Hill in April 1993. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Chapel, his attorneys and his supporters have long asserted he did not kill Thompson.

They have also asserted police and the Gwinnett District Attorney’s Office withheld information, which they believe could have exonerated Chapel, during his trial — allegations that former DA Danny Porter has denied.

“Mr. Chapel is innocent, and we can prove it” said Billy Rennie, who is one of Chapel’s attorneys. “His case is unlike anything I have ever seen. The State, including police officers under the authority of the district attorney, have an obligation to disclose to Mr. Chapel any evidence known to them or in their possession that would be exculpatory.”

Chapel’s case has drawn attention from various groups over the years as numerous appeals of his conviction have been filed and he has maintained his innocence. The National Police Defense Foundation took up his cause around the time of his conviction, and a book was later written about the case.

More recently, a 10-part podcast that was released in 2022, called “In The Land of Lies” has delved into the case, looking into everything from allegations of corrupt cops, to possible conspiracies in Gwinnett circles, to the death of a Russian boxer in Buford.

The podcast also looks into alleged KGB ties involving an investigator who worked for the the National Police Defense Foundation.

Past filings with the Georgia Supreme Court show Chapel had responded to a report of a robbery at Thompson’s home — $7,000 out a total of $14,000 she had stashed in her trailer had been stolen — a few weeks before her murder, and that she was supposed to meet with Chapel to compare serial numbers on her remaining money.

The previous appeals filings also show the remaining money was missing, and prosecutors had alleged at Chapel’s trial that the former officer had been facing financial issues, including an IRS verification audit.

Chapel’s supporters are asserting that he was the victim of a conspiracy that involved multiple agencies, including the police department and the District Attorney’s Office, to protect dirty cops in the early 1990s.

“Even at the time of his trial, Chapel alleged in his testimony that he was the victim of a conspiracy at the Gwinnett County Police Department to make him the fall guy to protect corrupt police officers who were selling drugs,” said Porter, who was Gwinnett’s DA from 1993 until 2020. “And, he specifically named J.P. Morgan as one of them.”

Porter denied that allegation, however, saying, “there was no conspiracy” to frame Chapel.

Chapel’s supporters and attorneys claim Morgan, who died a month after Thompson was murdered, was her actual killer.

“Officer J.P. Morgan knew Mr. Chapel didn’t murder Ms. Thompson, as Morgan himself was the trigger man,” Rennie said. “Obviously, we believe Mr. Chapel’s trial would have gone much differently had Officer Morgan or the District Attorney disclosed this fact before trial.”

One of the arguments supporters made in relation to the petition filed in Long County — which is where the prison that Chapel is being held in is located — is that a 911 dispatch recording from the night of Thompson’s murder shows he was at a fire station in Buford, waiting out a storm, at the time of her death.

That tape, they argue, was suppressed and withheld from defense attorneys in violation of the Brady Rule established by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brady v. Maryland ruling.

Porter said he believed the recording was made available to defense attorneys at the time, but he added he could not say with 100% certainty that it was.

“In general, I deny any prosecutorial misconduct,” Porter said. “I know that, in at least one prior post-conviction filing, maybe not this specific claim, but a claim of prosecutorial misconduct was raised and rejected (by the court).”

Supporters also assert a new witness testimony has put another suspect at the scene of Thompson’s murder.

But, Porter said he stands by the case that was presented in 1995.

“I’m comfortable with the way the case was tried and I think he got a fair trial, and we complied — the District’s Attorney’s Office complied — with all of its legal obligations,” Porter said.