Berrian v. State, 297 Ga. 740

Ronnie Lee Berrian shot and killed Russell Boyd on October 10, 2012; charged with malice murder and related offenses; convicted by a jury and sentenced to life without parole for malice murder plus a consecutive 5-year term for a firearms conviction.
Berrian’s account: an escalating verbal and physical confrontation in front of his house; Boyd allegedly pulled a knife, Berrian retrieved a gun inside the house, attempted to flee, and ultimately shot Boyd in self-defense when Boyd continued to approach.
Eyewitness Kevin Scott (the girlfriend’s father) testified differently: Boyd helped Scott (in a wheelchair) toward his car, was not brandishing a knife, and was shot after Boyd raised his hands in the street; two closed pocket knives were recovered on Boyd, no open knife or other weapon observed.
Physical and medical evidence: two closed pocket knives found on Boyd; medical examiner testified the bullet severed Boyd’s spinal cord and likely caused immediate paralysis.
Trial court instructed the jury on self-defense but denied Berrian’s requested jury instruction on mutual combat; defense objected at the charge conference and later raised plain error on appeal.

Issue	Berrian’s Argument	State’s Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for malice murder	Evidence supports self-defense narrative; conviction should not stand	Eyewitness and physical evidence undermine Berrian’s account; evidence supports malice murder	Conviction affirmed; evidence sufficient under Jackson v. Virginia
Failure to give mutual combat instruction	Trial court erred; some evidence supported mutual combat requiring instruction	Evidence did not show mutual intent to fight; jury was properly instructed on self-defense	No plain error: mutual combat instruction not warranted given the facts
Credibility of defendant vs. eyewitness	Jury should consider defendant’s testimony as exculpatory	Jury may reject defendant’s version when contradicted by eyewitness and physical evidence	Credibility determinations reserved to jury; appellate court defers to verdict
Whether appellant’s conduct supported voluntary manslaughter instruction	Mutual combat could reduce culpability to voluntary manslaughter	Appellant’s testimony showed retreat and flight, not mutual combat	Voluntary manslaughter via mutual combat not authorized; self-defense instruction sufficient

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for sufficiency of the evidence)
Daniels v. State, 280 Ga. 349 (jury may reject defendant’s testimony and assess credibility)
Powell v. State, 297 Ga. 352 (appellate court defers to jury factfindings)
Slaton v. State, 296 Ga. 122 (appellate courts do not resolve testimony conflicts)
Sanders v. State, 283 Ga. 372 (mutual combat can support voluntary manslaughter)
Carreker v. State, 273 Ga. 371 (mutual combat instruction discussed)
Mathis v. State, 196 Ga. 288 (mutual intent required for mutual combat)
Weatherby v. State, 213 Ga. 188 (distinguishing self-defense from mutual combat)
State v. Kelly, 290 Ga. 29 (plain-error review referenced)