The State of Georgia Versus Clevon Jamel Jenkins
A self-proclaimed “ultimate whodunit,” the true-crime book The State of Georgia Versus Clevon Jamel Jenkins makes a disturbing case about justice denied.
Robert Michael Kelly’s true-crime memoir The State of Georgia Versus Clevon Jamel Jenkins is about his yearslong attempt to reverse the wrongful conviction of an Black teenager for the robbery and murder of a white store owner in Georgia in 1995.
Now retired, Kelly was a lawyer in a New York City firm where Jenkins’s mother worked as a legal secretary. She sent seventeen-year-old Jenkins to live with his grandmother in Georgia, believing it to be a safer environment than New York. One day, Jenkins got into a car with four friends, who, unbeknownst to him, were planning to rob Robert Hodges, the owner of a convenience store.
Jenkins went into the store with several of the others, one of whom killed Hodges during the robbery. They were all apprehended; one became a witness for the state and testified against Jenkins. After a trial where he was represented by two court-appointed lawyers, Jenkins was convicted of robbery and murder and sentenced to life without parole. But Jenkins maintained that he had no knowledge of the planned robbery, was a bystander, and did not shoot Hodges.
When Kelly took on the case pro bono, it was to represent Jenkins in his motion for a new trial. As Kelly points out, there was no way to know for certain whether Jenkins was innocent, although he suspected Jenkins was telling the truth. However, after reading the trial transcript, Kelly became convinced that Jenkins did not get a fair trial due to the “numerous errors, including egregious constitutional violations” committed by the judge, prosecutor, and Jenkins’s defense counsel. The motion for a new trial was nonetheless denied, as were multiple appeals to various higher courts.
A self-proclaimed “ultimate whodunit,” the book makes a disturbing case about justice denied. Kelly’s argument that Jenkins’s trial was deeply flawed from a legal standpoint is laid out in a compelling manner, with the book sharing a preponderance of evidence that is navigated with professional skill. Through direct addresses, Kelly invites the audience to follow his reasoning and reach their own conclusions. He also indicts the legal system for its failings, in particular in the South: “There must be something in the water down there that prevents judges from thinking clearly.”
Although dealing with some complicated legal concepts, the prose is straightforward and accessible to lay readers. Typographical errors and instances of repetition mar its delivery, though. The latter roil around the flaws in Jenkins’s trial, with points made and remade until they become grating rather than persuasive. Further, some critical topics are ill-addressed, as with the role that Jenkins’s race may have played in the outcome of the trial, which is mentioned several times but not dissected.
The State of Georgia Versus Clevon Jamel Jenkins is a poignant memoir about a lawyer’s valiant attempts to get justice for his wrongly convicted client.
Reviewed by
Yelena Furman
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
