Williams v. The State
| Decision Date | 17 May 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. S10A0488.,S10A0488. |
| Parties | WILLIAMSv.The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
287 Ga. 199
695 S.E.2d 246
WILLIAMS
v.
The STATE.
No. S10A0488.
Supreme Court of Georgia.
May 17, 2010.
W. Kendall Wynne, Jr., District Attorney, Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General, Eric C. Crawford, Bogart, for appellee.
CARLEY, Presiding Justice.
After a jury trial, Hulet Williams was acquitted of malice murder and found guilty of the felony murder of Kenny Ewing and a separate count charging the underlying felony of aggravated assault. The trial court merged the aggravated assault count into the felony murder, entered judgment of conviction on the felony murder verdict, and sentenced Williams to life imprisonment. A motion for new trial was denied, and Williams appeals, * enumerating as error only the general grounds.
Construed most strongly in support of the jury's verdict, the evidence shows that the victim lived with his mother and with his girlfriend Liz Thornton. During a visit to the victim's home by Williams, who was also known as Sonny Norman, the two fought and the victim prevailed, although neither man had any visible injuries. Later in the day, Williams returned and used a screwdriver to threaten the victim, who said that he would leave Williams alone. Ms. Thornton testified that, at about 1:30 a.m. that night, she was in her bedroom when she heard a knock on the front door and, after she asked who it was, Williams replied “Sonny.” The victim went
to the door, opened it, and was stabbed in the chest.When police officers located Williams, he gave them items which he had taken or worn to the victim's home, including a screwdriver and a pair of tennis shoes which had blood from the victim. After being advised of his rights pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), Williams confessed that he stabbed the victim but did not mean to kill him. Without being told how the victim died, Williams demonstrated how he stabbed the victim. The medical examiner testified that the cause of death was a single stab wound to the chest and that he did not observe any other preexisting injuries which may have bled earlier in the day.
Williams argues that psychiatric testimony regarding his brain impairment and paranoid schizophrenia, and how his mental condition would affect his responses in an interview, calls into question the voluntariness of his confession. However, the trial court found that Williams' confession was voluntary, and “[i]t is...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Smith v. State
...contradicted, to support each fact necessary to make out the State’s case, the jury’s verdict will be upheld.’ " Williams v. State , 287 Ga. 199, 200, 695 S.E.2d 246 (2010) (citation omitted). Here, Cofer testified that she personally observed Smith shooting at her and her friends. Moreover......
-
Yarn v. State
...contradicted, to support each fact necessary to make out the State’s case, the jury’s verdict will be upheld.’ " Williams v. State , 287 Ga. 199, 200, 695 S.E.2d 246 (2010) (citation omitted). The testimony of an accomplice must be corroborated to sustain a felony conviction. OCGA § 24-14-8......
-
Ellis v. State, S12A1923.
...judges, to assess the credibility of witnesses, to weigh the evidence, and to resolve conflicts in the evidence. Williams v. State, 287 Ga. 199, 200, 695 S.E.2d 246 (2010). When we consider whether the evidence is sufficientto sustain a conviction, we must view the evidence in the light mos......
-
Brown v. the State.
...3. Id., citing Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). 4. (Punctuation omitted.) Williams v. State, 287 Ga. 199, 200, 695 S.E.2d 246 (2010), citing Miller v. State, 273 Ga. 831, 832, 546 S.E.2d 524 (2001). 5. OCGA § 16–8–2 (“A person commits the offense of t......