Wesley v. the State

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the denial of Rufus Wesley's motion for new trial on his malice murder and related convictions. The evidence—that Wesley approached an unarmed man with a shotgun and fatally shot him in the head as he retreated—was sufficient under Jackson v. Virginia. Wesley's challenge to admitted bad character evidence was waived by his failure to object at trial. The court concluded the trial court did not clearly err in finding effective assistance of counsel because every proposed objection would have been meritless and no Strickland prejudice was shown, individually or cumulatively.