I believe that the Court of Appeals order of acquittal recognized that this conviction was a terrible injustice. Georgia Thompson is an innocent woman who was imprisoned for more than four months – just for doing her job.
It is great for her that the Court of Appeals has taken this extraordinary action so that she does not spend one more night in prison.
In the very early stages of sensationalized media reports and partisan political attacks on this matter, I asked for an independent and thoughtful review of the process. I was assured that everything was done correctly, and that Georgia Thompson had acted appropriately – a finding the United States Court of Appeals validated today. Nevertheless, the US attorney decided to bring charges.
While obviously, we had to respect the District Court outcome last year, with her acquittal today I want to make this clear: she as an innocent woman, entitled to get her job back, and to all her rights as a state civil servant.
Obviously, nothing can undo the wrong that was done to Ms. Thompson, and nothing can give her the last four months of her life back. Nevertheless, I hope this decision will bring some measure of comfort to Ms. Thompson and her family.
