{"id":115818,"date":"2026-08-15T12:51:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T12:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/115818\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T12:51:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T12:51:07","slug":"attorney-embattled-geneva-co-clerk-innocent-until-proven-guilty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/115818\/","title":{"rendered":"Attorney: Embattled Geneva Co. clerk \u201cinnocent until proven guilty\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text | article-text\">GENEVA, Ala. (WTVY) -Flamboyant defense attorney David Harrison has officially stepped in to represent embattled Geneva County Court Clerk Ashley Powell, declaring that his client remains \u201cinnocent until proven guilty\u201d as she faces a high-stakes criminal prosecution. Court records confirmed Harrison formally took over the defense on Friday, marking a dramatic shift in a scandal that has gripped the local courthouse for months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Powell is accused of using her public office for personal gain, centered around an August 8 indictment alleging she systematically stole approximately $93,000 from the clerk\u2019s office she was entrusted to run. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"figure-img img-fluid mx-auto d-block\" fetchpriority=\"low\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Ashley Averett Powell\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786798267_231_2BRB3BY65FG2VHS76LYMU2T2CY.png\" width=\"980\" height=\"551\" \/>Ashley Averett Powell(Geneva County Jail)<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Despite the gravity of the allegations, Powell continues to draw a taxpayer-funded salary. While a judge reviewed initial evidence and ordered her removed from the physical office back in March, state records show she remains on the state payroll, collecting $8,347 per month while free on a $30,000 appearance bond.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">\u201cWe are innocent until proven guilty, and will be zealously working to solve this case in my client\u2019s best interest,\u201d Harrison said in a statement Friday afternoon, signaling a aggressive defense strategy moving forward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Powell is scheduled to be formally arraigned on August 27, where she is expected to enter a not guilty plea. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">While Harrison declined to discuss possible strategies he will use, a pretrial diversion program that would keep charges off Powell\u2019s criminal record apparently won\u2019t be an option. The Geneva County District Attorney\u2019s website reveals any offense wherein the offender is a public official and the charge is related to his or her capacity as a public official cannot be part of the diversion program. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Harrison is no stranger to the region\u2019s most intense legal dramas. His roster of clients includes Adrienne Reid, the Enterprise woman accused of murdering her two-year-old daughter, Coley McCraney, who is currently serving a life sentence for the double murder of two Dothan teenagers, and a veterinarian accused of choking a helpless cat at his office . <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text text-start\">Download the WTVY News4 app to get alerts and stories the moment they are published. Available for FREE in the <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/wtvy-news-4\/id420970403\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/wtvy-news-4\/id420970403\">Apple App Store<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.graytv.android.wtvynews&amp;hl=en_US&amp;gl=US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.graytv.android.wtvynews&amp;hl=en_US&amp;gl=US\">Google Play Store!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 WTVY. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GENEVA, Ala. (WTVY) -Flamboyant defense attorney David Harrison has officially stepped in to represent embattled Geneva County Court&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7],"tags":[56313,20716,56312,56311,65,2531,20717,18969,56315,56314],"class_list":["post-115818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-geneva","tag-adrienne-reid","tag-ashley-powell","tag-coley-mccraney","tag-david-harrison","tag-geneva","tag-geneva-county","tag-geneva-county-clerk","tag-harrison","tag-powell","tag-reid"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/117099619168676075","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}