Guilty Until Proven Innocent

In May 2019 Hannah Payne a 20 year old law abiding young lady was on an ordinary drive home after a long day at work. She witnessed a serious accident where a driver ran a red light and hit a semi tractor trailer truck.

A state officer at the scene, showing her his badge informed her and another party to the accident that the man who caused the accident was inebriated. After waiting at the scene for nearly 20 minutes, and the police had not arrived, the driver of the pick up truck that caused the accident drove away, nearly hitting another person that was standing at the scene of the accident.

At the direction of the state officer (man with a badge- who can be heard on the 911 recording) advised her to follow him and get the tag number, she did and when he came to a stop at an intersection, she pulled her car in front of his to stop this inebriated driver from continuing. She approached his vehicle with her phone in her hand, showing him that she was on a call with 911 and told him he had to stop.

The things that happened next are unimaginable for this 20 year-old girl, who thinks that she is simply there are to stop what she believes to be a drunk driver. He grabs her and assaults her (all physical evidence from her bruising and ripped clothing, confirm his brutal attack on her)

She was not prepared for his determination to harm her and she was no match for his strength as he held her against her will. What began with good intentions ultimately led to an unforeseen and tragic outcome when he grabbed the gun she drew to defend herself and pointed it at her and pulled the trigger. The safety prevented him from shooting her, and as she pushed the gun away to keep him from aiming it at her again, the gun went off, striking him in the abdomen (with his finger on the trigger)

The manner in which this case was presented by the Clayton County GA’s DA was they painted her as a angry vigilante even though the 911 call that she was on the entire time record her speaking calmly. They tried to paint this man as a sweet older man who was seeking medical assistance when the facts of the case prove he denied medical assistance and was fleeing the scene of a crime. WHY???

The Clayton County DA's office had all the information. They knew that he wasn't a legal driver, they knew the truck wasn't his, had stolen plates, drug paraphernalia, little baggies, criminal history, violent past and they opted to spin the narrative to portray Hannah as a bad person WHY?? ....She told the truth, her clothes were torn off, she had a black eye, bruised wrist, his fingernail scratches around her neck, had personal character, never been in trouble EVER

They told the jury she chased him down and shot him out of anger over a minor fender bender. COMPLETE LIES

They told the jury because she approached his car window so he was within his legal authority to do "anything to her he chose to do" (no you can not). She was never a threat to him. He wasn't a little old man, he was an angry man. He assaulted her, called her 'b*tch I got something for you"

She pulled out her legal concealed gun to try and save herself because she couldn't break free from him and he overpowered her.

She pulled her car in front of his to stop him out of regard for public safety and his welfare. She approached him not knowing what is was capable of or what he would do.

YET even knowing this, YET when all of the physical evidence fully supported the exact story she told, AND knowing he was a violent bad man they STILL tried to spin the story to say that she attacked HIM. WHY? To this day we do not know but one thing we do know is that the DA held several meetings with the NAACP and they were allowed to sit in the trial wearing their NAACP credentials in front of the jury

What was their motive to spin this into a false story when they had all of the information that they needed to fairly see it for the truth?

The DA stood at her trial and told the jury that she had no right to defend herself (lies). The jury was never even allowed to CONSIDER self-defense or self defensive others which were both legal, ACCURATE defenses in her case. AND did we mention that the DA and their investigative team could have farther proven Hannah's story true but OPTED to NOT TEST the gun trigger for HIS DNA..WHY???

She was charged with Malice Murder, Felony Murder, and False Imprisonment for stopping his car by pulling her car in front of his

Hannah's defense attorney at the time did not understand the laws that were applicable to her defense and did not properly argue those nor did the court allow the jury to consider any other charge other than the murder charges.

This obviously limited the jury’s ability to fully and fairly evaluate acquittal even if they believed Hannah’s testimony completely as supported by the physical evidence

She was sentenced to life in prison. This 20 year old girl that has never harmed a soul, who was assaulted by a man that attempted to kill her

The family recruited, a new legal team comprised of attorney, Andrew Fleishman and Attorney Brian Steel, who immediately identified these issues and filed a Motion for New Trial knowing that justice had not been served

On August 6, 2025, a Clayton County the SAME judge that presided over the trial denied Hannah's motion for a new trial after hearing arguments from Assistant Appellant District Attorney Deborah Leslie. The written order denying the motion was prepared by ADA Leslie and later signed by the Judge Jewel C. Scott, noting that it was “reviewed and edited by the court” on September 11, 2025. This document was subsequently distributed to Hannah's legal team

On September 18, 2025, Hannah's attorneys filed a notice of appeal with the Supreme Court of Georgia. From that point until oral arguments were presented before the Justices on March 18, 2026, no amended order was filed. At no time during this period did any of the individuals involved—or any personnel from the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office—identify or correct the deeply troubling issues that were ultimately brought to light by the Supreme Court Justices.

During oral arguments, Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson reprimanded ADA Leslie and revealed that MULTIPLE legal citations in the order were not only INACCURATE, but in several instances NONEXISTENT, MISQUOTED, or materially MISREPRESENTED the arguments. These findings, as acknowledged by the Supreme Court of Georgia in its March 20, 2026 order, point to serious and undeniable breaches in the legal integrity surrounding this case.

This is NOT a minor oversight—it is a PROFOUND FAILURE OF ACCOUNTABILITY just as Clayton County has behaved throughout this entire ordeal.

Hannah relied on the TRUTH and believed that justice would prevail, but justice can never prevail in the presence of false and misleading legal authority

When FALSIFICATION and MISREPRESENTATION reach the Supreme Court, it demands more than acknowledgment, it demands action. If such critical errors occurred at the appellate level, it forces a sobering question: what prosecutorial misconduct may have occurred during the trial itself? (We know...they lied about the ENTIRE NARRATIVE!)

We are bringing these facts to light because Hannah is not a vigilante. Kenneth Herring was never a man suffering a medical episode. A young girl was sentenced to LIFE in prison because the Clayton County DA's office thought they would punish her to the fullest corrupt limit of the law because she had the audacity to approach this man regardless of her intentions to help.

Justice requires transparency, honesty, and accountability at every level! Hannah deserves a fair and impartial trial, free from distortion and error the same as your sister, your best friend, your daughter, your niece or loved one. If this can happen to an ordinary girl on her way home from work it can happen to anyone

To continue this fight for justice, we are asking for support to fund the legal costs that are necessary to continue the fight for a new, fair and just trial. Your contribution helps ensure that this case is reviewed with the integrity it deserves and that the truth is fully and fairly represented and heard. The family has depleted their own funds to get this far and we need your help

We push to raise awareness of the importance of integrity and transparency throughout the legal system.

Thankfully the Supreme Court of Georgia Justices uncovered the truth of the last motion (thanks to the internet now everyone see's how they prepared a brief that conveniently contained 5 citations and 3 quotations that don't exist

The lengths they have gone through to misrepresent and distort the truth cannot be someone else’s problem.

Please help us fight for the truth