Hasty v. State

Supreme Court of Georgia

Hasty v. State

390 S.E.2d 580, 260 Ga. 114

CourtSupreme Court of Georgia

DecidedApril 20, 1990

DocketS90A0451

StatusPublished

This text of 390 S.E.2d 580 (Hasty v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Hasty v. State, 390 S.E.2d 580, 260 Ga. 114 (Ga. 1990).

Pincite

Opinion

Clarke, Chief Justice.

Hasty was convicted of the murder of Mary Elizabeth James and sentenced to life imprisonment.¹ He appeals, enumerating as error the failure of the evidence to support the verdict of guilty.

The victim was found dead with a plastic bag over her head in the apartment she shared with appellant. She was heavily bruised. A detective who investigated the killing testified as to the statement given by appellant. Appellant admitted that he and the victim had quarrelled and that he hit her until she fell on the floor. Appellant denied putting the plastic bag over the victim’s face. At trial he [115]*115claimed that she had knocked him out and that when he awoke she was dead. The detective testified that there was blood on the appellant’s pants and shoes. Another officer who investigated the scene testified that a photograph taken in his presence showed that appellant had blood on a knuckle of his left hand and between the fingers of that hand.

Decided April 20, 1990. Michael A. Zoffmann, for appellant. Lewis R. Slaton, District Attorney, David Wright, Assistant District Attorney, Michael J. Bowers, Attorney General, Andrew S. Ree, for appellee.

Reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, we hold that a rational trier of fact could have found appellant guilty of the crime for which he was convicted beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).

Judgment affirmed.

All the Justices concur.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Clarke, Chief Justice.

Hasty was convicted of the murder of Mary Elizabeth James and sentenced to life imprisonment.¹ He appeals, enumerating as error the failure of the evidence to support the verdict of guilty.

The victim was found dead with a plastic bag over her head in the apartment she shared with appellant. She was heavily bruised. A detective who investigated the killing testified as to the statement given by appellant. Appellant admitted that he and the victim had quarrelled and that he hit her until she fell on the floor. Appellant denied putting the plastic bag over the victim’s face. At trial he [115]*115claimed that she had knocked him out and that when he awoke she was dead. The detective testified that there was blood on the appellant’s pants and shoes. Another officer who investigated the scene testified that a photograph taken in his presence showed that appellant had blood on a knuckle of his left hand and between the fingers of that hand.

Decided April 20, 1990. Michael A. Zoffmann, for appellant. Lewis R. Slaton, District Attorney, David Wright, Assistant District Attorney, Michael J. Bowers, Attorney General, Andrew S. Ree, for appellee.

Reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, we hold that a rational trier of fact could have found appellant guilty of the crime for which he was convicted beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).

Judgment affirmed.

All the Justices concur.

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

390 S.E.2d 580, 260 Ga. 114, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hasty-v-state-ga-1990.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack