Debelbot v. Georgia
Annotate this CaseAlbert and Ashley Debelbot were tried by jury and convicted of the murder of their infant daughter, McKenzy. Following the denial of their motions for new trial, the Debelbots appealed, asserting, among other claims of error that the evidence was legally insufficient to sustain their convictions and that they were denied the effective assistance of counsel. In Debelbot v. Georgia, 826 SE2d 129 (2019) (“Debelbot I”), the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed in part, concluding that the evidence was legally sufficient to sustain the convictions, although it noted that the sufficiency of the evidence was a “close question.” The Court also, however, vacated in part the denial of the motions for new trial and remanded for further consideration of the claims that the Debelbots were denied the effective assistance of counsel. The trial court again rejected the claims of ineffective assistance and denied the motions for new trial. The Debelbots appealed for a second time, and this time, the Supreme Court reversed, “[t]he Debelbots have shown a reasonable probability that, but for the failure of their lawyers to object during closing argument to the gross misstatement of the law by the prosecuting attorney, the outcome of their trial would have been different.”
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