Statement of the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation on the Acquittal of Joshua George

October 10, 2025

CONTACT: Andy Hoover, andy@hoovercomms.com, 717-256-1293

WASHINGTON, Pa. - A jury in Washington County, Pa., on Thursday acquitted Joshua George of several felony charges, including homicide, related to the death of his son Oliver in 2021. George faced the possibility of a death sentence if he had been convicted of the homicide charge.

George is one of two defendants included in a petition for "extraordinary jurisdiction" before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court filed by the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation in July. The petition seeks an order from the court establishing stronger supervision of capital cases in Washington County, where District Attorney Jason Walsh has pursued death sentences in a majority of homicide cases since taking office in 2021. The following can be attributed to Marc Bookman, legal director of the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation, in response to George's acquittal:

"The very quick acquittal of Joshua George in a capital jury trial in Washington County was predictable and shocking at the same time. Predictable because the evidence against Mr. George was appallingly weak - no reasonable jury would have convicted. Shocking because District Attorney Jason Walsh decided to seek the death penalty in a case where guilt itself was so much at issue. This confirms once again our claim that Walsh abuses his right to seek capital punishment by asking for it under utterly inappropriate circumstances - to coerce guilty pleas, threaten witnesses, and improperly keep innocent people like Joshua George in custody waiting for trial, in this case taking three and a half years of his life away from him and his family. And while innocent people suffer from Walsh’s abuses, the taxpayers pay for it."

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