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Litman: I never plead guilty because I am innocent
Posted: 06.01.2012 at 12:12 PM
Jessica Fairley

Jessica Fairley is a reporter with FOX 31 News

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John Litman held a press conference to discuss the ongoing legal situation.  / Jessica Fairley
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ALBANY, GA --


After coming under fire for illegal financial transactions, the owner of the J.H. Litman Funeral Home says charges against him are being expunged.

He says he’s been fighting to clear his name since allegations arose that he'd purchased funeral vaults illegally and sold them to clients at a beefed up price.

“I would have been literally not smart to purchase items that I knew where stolen with a check. We had no idea that there was anything improper about those vaults,” says John Litman.

After more than a year of scorn, he says the law has finally turned in his favor. He went over the letter that was sent out regarding his case.

"To whom it may concern the charges against Mr. Litman will be Nolle Prossed. Nolle Prossed is a Latin term in the law for not prosecuted,” says John Litman.

Litman says a statement from a witness shows that he not only paid for the vaults but he purchased them from a cemetery official at a higher price than they paid for them. 

Although his record is being expunged, those with the District Attorney’s office say they did have sufficient evidence to go forward with a trial.

District Attorney Greg Edwards says Mr. Litman took the plea under Alford vs. North Carolina, a U.S. Supreme Court case.

“What the plea says is I'm entering a plea but I still maintain my innocence but their may be sufficient facts and evidence that may cause a jury to return a conviction against me,” says Greg Edwards, Dougherty County District Attorney.

He says litman agreed to pay a portion of the court fees and a fee to Floral Memory Gardens.

Litman says he's glad his name is clear again.

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