Walterv.The State
A jury convicted Jeneral Walter of felony murder and possessing a firearm during a felony after a shooting at a Fulton County apartment complex killed T’Shanerka Smith. Walter argued that the trial court should have severed his trial from those of his co-defendants and committed plain error by instructing the jury about witness certainty without giving an accomplice-corroboration instruction. The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed. The joint trial did not create the clear prejudice or due-process violation necessary to require severance, and the evidence was legally sufficient. Any possible problem with the certainty instruction did not likely affect the outcome. The Court also found no obvious error in the absence of an accomplice-corroboration charge because Walter identified no controlling precedent requiring that instruction on this record, and the evidence did not establish the necessary circumstances. The Court declined to disturb the convictions and sentences.
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