THOMPSON v. THE STATE
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Diante Thompson was convicted for malice murder and other crimes related to the stabbing death of Bobby Jermaine Ricks. Thompson, along with Demarco Draughn, Benny Hayward, and Xavier Levatte, were charged with malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault. Thompson's trial was severed from his co-indictees, who were also convicted of malice murder. The jury found Thompson guilty on all charges and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for malice murder. The felony-murder count was vacated by operation of law. Thompson filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied by the trial court.
Thompson appealed his convictions, arguing that the evidence presented at trial was constitutionally insufficient to sustain his convictions and that the trial court erred by failing to grant a new trial. He also argued that the State committed reversible error in its closing argument by telling the jury that it needed to adjudicate the guilt of Thompson’s co-indictees, who were tried separately, and by allegedly shifting the burden of proof to Thompson. Additionally, Thompson argued that his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to object to the same allegedly improper statements made by the State.
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Thompson’s convictions. The court found that the evidence at trial was sufficient to uphold Thompson’s convictions. The court also found that Thompson's claims of reversible error in the State's closing argument were not preserved for appellate review because defense counsel failed to object to the prosecutor’s allegedly improper statements at trial. Lastly, the court found that Thompson failed to show that his trial counsel was deficient for failing to object to the prosecutor’s allegedly burden-shifting comments.
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