The Other Georgia Murder Case With a Podcast and a Big Reward

In last night’s episode of “Undisclosed,” we discussed the $20,000ish reward offered in the Isaac Dawkins case, including the possibility that the reward money might have been spent to purchase motorcycle(s). This wouldn’t be the first Georgia case covered by a podcast in which a key witness received the reward money. The other case was the prosecution of Justin Chapman, covered by Season 1 of the Breakdown Podcast.

Chapman was convicted of felony murder in connection with the death of 79-year-old Alice Jackson, who perished of smoke inhalation after a fire started at the duplex where both Chapman and she lived. 

The prosecution’s key witness was Joseph White, who had been awaiting trial on child molestation charges in the Haralson County Jail when Chapman was arrested. White testified that Chapman admitted setting the fire because his landlady had asked them to move out of the duplex, saying their family of four was too large for the one-bedroom residence. White, who by that time had been acquitted at trial of the molestation charges, denied that he had asked the prosecution for any consideration on his case in return for his testimony.

A neighbor, Gary Stroup, who lived with his sister one street over from Chapman, testified that he saw someone limping across the street a block away just before flames erupted. Chapman walked with a limp because of a serious on-the-job foot injury suffered years earlier. Stroup admitted that right after the fire he told police that he could not identify the person he saw. Nonetheless, he told the jury, “I believe it was Mr. Chapman.”

The defense didn’t know at trial that “Stroup and White split a $10,000 reward paid by Georgia Arson Control, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing arson.” This was part of Chapman’s appeal, but it was ultimately Brady violations that led to Chapman’s murder conviction being thrown out. In June of this year, state prosecutors announced that they will not retry Chapman for murder.

-CM