An Augusta father of two, Harold Doby III, was released from prison on Thursday after his 45-year sentence for failing to pay restitution was overturned by the Georgia Court of Appeals.
Doby, 33, was seen celebrating his release with an emotional hug from his daughter at school, in a video that quickly went viral on Facebook. A former member of the Augusta University basketball team, Doby is also known for his community involvement, including hosting toy giveaways, winter coat drives, canned food drives, and organizing trips for young kids to NBA games.
In 2019, Doby was involved in a bar-related assault and shooting. After being sentenced to 25 years of probation and ordered to pay $155,000 in restitution to the victims, Doby was sent to prison when he couldn’t pay the full amount. The judge revoked his probation, and Doby was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
However, the Court of Appeals found that the trial court had not considered Doby’s inability to pay due to job loss and back injuries. The court ruled that it was unfair to revoke probation without assessing whether alternative forms of punishment were available for someone who made a good faith effort to pay but couldn’t due to circumstances beyond their control.
“Only if alternate measures are not adequate to meet the State’s interests in punishment and deterrence may the court imprison a probationer who has made sufficient bona fide efforts to pay,” the court wrote. “To do otherwise would deprive the probationer of his conditional freedom simply because, through no fault of his own, he cannot pay the fine. Such a deprivation would be contrary to the fundamental fairness required by the Fourteenth Amendment.”
In a GoFundMe campaign Doby launched to raise money for the restitution, he acknowledged his mistake and explained the events that led to the shooting. He said that as he was leaving a bar one night, a group of men angrily approached his vehicle and threatened him. Fearing for his life, Doby fired a single shot from his licensed firearm, with no intention of harming anyone.
The man he shot survived, but he suffered serious injuries, including six rods being implanted in his arm and approximately $40,000 in medical bills. A second assault victim in the case lost sight in one of his eyes and incurred $70,000 in medical expenses.
Doby has maintained that he was simply protecting himself.
“I had a clean record before this incident and had not been in any trouble with law enforcement,” he said.
While the exact terms of Doby’s release are unclear, he has expressed his belief in second chances. Through his GoFundMe page, Doby raised nearly $5,000 to help cover the restitution, and he remains committed to his community work.
“I want to continue to be a community supporter, help our youth, and coach my beloved sport of basketball,” he wrote.
Reaction online was joyful, with Toya Rogers reacting to the viral video by saying, “Just in time for the holidays. Best gift ever.”
J.R. Smith said, “Welcome home Doby!”
LaRhonda Mikell watched the video from her phone with this reaction: “God is sooooooo good and faithful!! At the red light crying like a baby. I am so happy for you all.”
