The lawyers behind a stunning murder acquittal in the small South Georgia town of Ocilla traveled 200 miles from the Atlanta area to handle the three-week trial—and did it for no charge.

The pro bono defense team for Ryan Duke included Ashleigh and John Merchant of the Merchant Law Firm in Marietta, 20 miles north of Atlanta, and Evan Gibbs of Troutman Pepper, the firm formerly known as Troutman Sanders and one of the biggest in Atlanta.