Maurice Bentley was convicted of malice murder and related offenses after a Christmas Eve shooting killed Michael Polite and wounded Angela Johnson. Bentley had already faced two mistrials when a third jury found him guilty. On appeal, he argued that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to an autopsy photograph, failing to stipulate to prior convictions for rape and incest, and referring before the jury to an earlier trial. The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. The Court held that the challenged photograph was admissible, that any error in admitting the prior-conviction evidence was harmless given the strong identification and physical evidence, and that the brief reference to an earlier trial did not prejudice Bentley. The Court also considered the cumulative effect of assumed deficiencies and found no reasonable probability of a different result. The murder and related convictions therefore remained in place.