GA: Hunter freed after 7 years behind bars for killing brother

July 13, 2010

A hunter convicted of murder for fatally shooting his brother has been released from a Georgia prison.

Joshua Hames was freed Tuesday, just one day after Georgia's Supreme Court overturned his conviction after 7 years behind bars. Hames' attorney, Holly Pierson, said that Hames will be spending time with family.

He had argued that he thought he was shooting a bobcat or a large animal during a 2002 deer hunting trip on the family's farm in Walton County. Instead, he fatally shot his brother Sam.

He was prosecuted under a state law allowing prosecutors to pursue felony charges against a hunter if he seriously injures another person using a weapon by knowingly disregarding a serious risk.

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