Medical issue in the courtroom postpones trial for Georgia deputies accused of murder
A Washington County jury will hear arguments this week about whether former deputies violated the law by allegedly tasing a man to death, but the long-awaited court date faced another delay Wednesday.
Former Washington County deputies Henry Copeland, Michael Howell and Rhett Scott sat in the Sandersville courtroom ahead of their jury trial scheduled to start with opening arguments Wednesday. They face murder charges from the 2017 death of Eurie Martin, a man with mental health issues.
But before the trial began, Assistant District Attorney George Lipscomb of Muscogee County appeared to faint in court, prompting Senior Judge H. Gibbs Flanders Jr. to delay the case — one of many court delays in the history of this trail.
The prosecutor’s health condition was unknown, but the judge instructed the jurors and the courtroom audience to return Thursday morning.
Francis Johnson, an attorney representing Martin’s family, said getting to trial day has been a “long walk.”
“This has been an eight-year journey,” Johnson said. “It’s a long walk from Milledgeville to Sandersville. It’s been a long walk for this family, and this hopefully will be the beginning of the end of that walk to justice for Eurie Martin.”
Ultimately, jurors must decide whether the deputies broke the law in Martin’s death.
Eurie Martin’s death
Prior to his death, Martin was on a trek from Milledgeville to Sandersville, a roughly 30-minute walk, when he arrived in Deepstep, a small town in Washington County, in July 2017, according to multiple media reports. He was thirsty and approached Cyrus Harris, a man cutting grass in front of his home, and asked him for water, according to multiple media reports.
Harris instead kicked him out and called 911, prior media reports say.
Copeland, Howell and Scott were dispatched as law enforcement officers to find Martin. When they approached Martin, he kept walking and ignored them, according to multiple media reports.
One of the deputies discharged their taser to slow him down, but Martin tore the electrical contacts from his body and continued walking, according to multiple media reports.
Copeland, Howell and Scott surrounded Martin and discharged their tasers once more until they put handcuffs on him. After the onslaught of electricity, he died. He was tased for over one and a half minutes, according to multiple media reports.
Previous case delays
What has proceeded has been a long court battle over whether the three deputies should face trial.
Flanders previously granted the deputies immunity from criminal prosecution on Nov. 22, 2019, ruling “the force used in the seizure and arrest of Mr. Martin was reasonably necessary under the circumstances,” the judge’s order said.
Their defense attorneys pushed for them to be declared immune under a Stand Your Ground law, which allows people to use force to defend themselves from a perceived threat.
However, the case was sent to the Georgia Supreme Court, which expressed doubt about the decision to grant them immunity, according to multiple media reports. They eventually overturned Flanders’ ruling in November 2020, and the case returned to Washington County court for trial.
The case was again delayed when a jury told Flanders they couldn’t agree on whether or not they would convict the deputies in October 2021.
This story was originally published November 12, 2025 at 12:52 PM.
