Eberhart v. State
307 Ga. 254
Ga.2019Background
- Marcus Eberhart, an East Point police sergeant and TASER‑certified officer, repeatedly used his TASER (drive‑stun mode) on Gregory Towns after Towns was chased, subdued, and handcuffed; Towns collapsed and shortly thereafter died.
- Data showed Eberhart fired his TASER ten times; a co‑defendant fired his four times. Towns had run, was exhausted, and was handcuffed when much of the tasing occurred.
- The Fulton County medical examiner and a cardiac electrophysiologist testified that the repeated drive‑stun applications materially accelerated Towns’s death by exacerbating preexisting hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
- Eberhart was indicted for felony murder (predicate: aggravated assault with a deadly weapon), aggravated assault, and related offenses; a jury convicted him of felony murder and related counts; he was sentenced to life.
- On appeal Eberhart argued (1) Ford v. State bars using certain felonies as predicates for felony murder and therefore his conviction cannot stand, and (2) proof of intense pain alone is insufficient to prove the “serious bodily injury” element of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
- The Georgia Supreme Court held Ford did not apply to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and that the State’s expert medical proof showed the TASER applications caused more than pain — they proximately accelerated Towns’s death — so the evidence was sufficient to support felony murder.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence to support felony murder (aggravated assault with deadly weapon) | Eberhart: evidence insufficient to prove assault with deadly weapon that actually resulted in serious bodily injury/death | State: repeated TASER drive‑stuns while handcuffed caused serious bodily injury and proximately caused death | Affirmed — viewed in light most favorable to verdict, experts showed TASER use proximately caused death; jury could find aggravated assault with deadly weapon and felony murder proven beyond reasonable doubt |
| Applicability of Ford v. State (whether particular felony may serve as predicate for felony murder) | Eberhart: Ford precludes using this felony as a predicate because it allegedly is not inherently dangerous or life‑threatening | State: aggravated assault with a deadly weapon is inherently dangerous and a valid felony‑murder predicate | Rejected — Ford inapplicable; aggravated assault with a deadly weapon is a paradigmatic inherently dangerous felony and can support felony murder |
| Whether proof of intense physical pain alone suffices to prove "serious bodily injury" | Eberhart: intense pain from TASERs alone is legally insufficient by itself to establish serious bodily injury required for aggravated assault | State: expert testimony showed taser use not only caused intense pain but materially accelerated death, satisfying serious bodily injury element | Rejected — court need not decide whether pain alone could suffice because here evidence showed more than pain: the tasings materially accelerated death, supporting serious bodily injury finding |
Key Cases Cited
- Ford v. State, 262 Ga. 602 (1992) (addresses when a felony may be too non‑dangerous to serve as a felony‑murder predicate)
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (legal sufficiency standard for criminal convictions)
- State v. Jackson, 287 Ga. 646 (2010) (proximate‑cause principles in felony‑murder context)
- Guyse v. State, 286 Ga. 574 (2009) (distinguishing felony murder from malice murder; aggravated assault elements)
- Davis v. State, 306 Ga. 140 (2019) (discussion of Ford’s scope and felony‑murder predicates)
- Smith v. State, 290 Ga. 768 (2012) (aggravated assault characterized as inherently dangerous felony)
- Vega v. State, 285 Ga. 32 (2009) (jury resolves credibility and evidentiary conflicts)
- Baker v. State, 236 Ga. 754 (1976) (historical treatment of dangerous felonies in felony‑murder law)