Gibson v. State, 290 Ga. 6

Gibson was convicted of malice murder and related offenses for the shooting death of his wife, Jamie Gibson, and appealed denial of his motion for new trial.
Early on Jan. 6, 2004, Gibson telephoned James Gillespie, whom he believed was involved with Jamie, uttered threats after a final call, and stated he had killed Jamie.
Police conducted an early-morning welfare check at Jamie's apartment, found her dead on the couch, and the crime scene yielded the murder weapon in plain view after a couch cushion was compressed.
The state introduced evidence including Gibson’s statements to Gillespie and the resultant homicide, making the sufficiency of the evidence a central challenge.
Teresa Melton testified about Jamie’s statements to her regarding Gibson’s abuse and an extramarital affair, admitted under the necessity exception to the hearsay rule; the trial court ruled these statements trustworthy under the totality of circumstances.
The defense raised multiple claims, including suppression issues, ineffective assistance of counsel, and competency questions about juror conduct; the trial court’s rulings were reviewed on appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence for malice murder	State argues evidence supported guilt beyond reasonable doubt	Gibson contends insufficiency to prove malice murder beyond reasonable doubt	Evidence sufficient to sustain verdict
Admission of the murder weapon and crime-scene photos	State contends exigent circumstances justified warrantless entry and seizure	Gibson argues suppression should have been granted or objections preserved	Exigent circumstances justified admissibility; waiver appropriately found
Admission of Melton’s hearsay statements under necessity	State maintains statements relevant to intent/motive and trustworthy	Gibson asserts lack of trustworthiness and necessity wasn't satisfied	Trial court did not abuse discretion; statements admissible under necessity exception
Right to testify and whether record should reflect decision to testify	State asserts no duty to place decision on record; any objection waived	Gibson argues trial court should have placed decision on record	No error; no on-record colloquy required; decision remains defendant's
Removal of juror sleeping during trial	State contends juror incapacity justified removal to preserve integrity	Gibson argues removal prejudiced defense	Trial court did not abuse discretion; juror removal supported by record

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (sufficiency review standard for criminal evidence)
Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U.S. 385 (U.S. 1978) ( exigent-circumstances entry and search allowed when immediate aid is needed)
Perkins v. State, 269 Ga. 791 (Ga. 1998) (exigent circumstances and plain-view seizure in welfare-entry context)
Gilreath v. State, 247 Ga. 814 (Ga. 1981) (Fourth Amendment upholding warrantless entry when immediate aid or homicide scene)
Watson v. State, 278 Ga. 763 (Ga. 2004) (necessity-based admissibility of statements)
Yancey v. State, 275 Ga. 550 (Ga. 2002) (reliability considerations for necessity-based hearsay)
McPherson v. State, 274 Ga. 444 (Ga. 2001) (trustworthiness indicia in necessity exception)
Thomas v. State, 274 Ga. 156 (Ga. 2001) (necessity exception admissibility based on close relationship and relevance)
State v. Nejad, 286 Ga. 695 (Ga. 2010) (defendant decides whether to testify is his to make; no automatic duty to inquire)
Lupoe v. State, 284 Ga. 576 (Ga. 2008) (ineffectiveness not shown when defendant chose not to testify after being informed of rights)
Jimmerson v. State, 289 Ga. 364 (Ga. 2011) (renewal of non-meritorious suppression motion generally ineffectual for IAC)
Freeman v. State, 278 Ga. 349 (Ga. 2004) (renewal of non-meritorious motions—no prejudice)
Burton v. State, 263 Ga. 725 (Ga. 1994) (trial court not required to require colloquy on the right to testify)