Bell v. The State, S06A0550 - murder conviction affirmed 5-2
There is nothing particularly earth shattering about this opinion, but I thought it was interesting to see some of the Justice’s insights. It was a 5 to 2 decision with Sears and Melton dissenting.
The Court found that the victim became angry after discovering that he had been sold counterfeit drugs. He returned to the area where the purchase was made and confronted appellant, who then shot the victim at close range and killed him. The Court found that this and other evidence introduced at trial supported the jury’s verdict.
In his dissenting opinion, Justice Harold D. Melton argues that because there is some evidence in this case that Bell could have acted out of a sudden passion, without malice aforethought, in shooting his attacker, see OCGA § 16-5-2 (a), I would hold that it was error for the trial court to refuse Bell’s request for a charge on voluntary manslaughter. Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears joined in the dissent.
Read the opinion here.
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