A Fulton County judge misspoke while reading a defendant’s verdict in a Georgia courtroom Friday, telling him he was guilty when the jury deemed him not guilty.
Alton Oliver was on trial over the 2022 killing of a Fulton County deputy and faced six counts, including three of murder, NBC affiliate WXIA of Atlanta reported.
Video from inside the courtroom shows the moment the judge accidentally told Oliver he was guilty.
After confirming with the jury that the paperwork was correct, the judge read the verdict: “We the jury find the defendant guilty as to all six counts.”
Oliver and his legal team sat in silence but people in the courtroom started audibly questioning the judge’s reading, prompting him to double-check the paper.
“Didn’t I say ‘not’?” the judge asked the room, to which a number of people replied “no.”
He apologized, then re-read the statement, this time correctly. People in the courtroom laughed and applauded.
After learning he had been acquitted, Oliver hugged his defense team, the video shows.
Earlier in the week, Oliver testified that he acted in self-defense when he shot Deputy James Thomas after Thomas repeatedly drove by Oliver and made unwanted sexual advances, WXIA reported.
