Coleman-Baker Act

O.C.G.A. 17-2-1

The Coleman Baker Act was enacted on July 1st of 2023. The Act gives families of homicide
victims an avenue to request that a cold case be reopened by law enforcement agencies. In order
for an application to be considered it must meet the following criteria:

• The crime is a murder as defined by O.C.G.A. § 16-5-1.
• The murder occurred on or after January 1, 1970.
• The murder occurred three (3) years prior to the date of the application.
• The crime must have occurred within the jurisdiction of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office or the Augusta Police Department.
• All probative leads have been exhausted or no likely perpetrator has been identified.
• The applicant is a designated person.*

*A designated person is a parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandparent in-law, sibling, spouse,
child, stepchild of a victim, any person who exercised in loco parentis control over a victim under
the age of 18 years, or their designated attorney in good standing with the State Bar of Georgia.

Application forms will be available at the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Records Division
during normal business hours located at 400 Walton Way, Augusta, GA 30901. The application
form will also be made available to be downloaded online at link below:

PDF to Coleman Baker Act
PDF to Cold Case Review Application Form

Please bring the application and all proper identification required to establish the relationship of
designated person to victim(s) when submitting the application. Applications will need to be
submitted in person at the Sheriff’s Office. Exceptions will be made on a case by case basis.
A response from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Division will be sent after
receipt of the application.

Please contact the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 706-
821-1020 for any questions.