Greene v. State, 303 Ga. 184

On Oct. 23, 2012, Freddie Jackson was shot and killed outside an apartment after a dispute over stolen crack cocaine; eyewitnesses identified Eddieard Konta Greene as the shooter.
Kendra Hayes (the occupant) was shot in the arm by the fleeing shooter and identified Greene in a photo lineup and at trial.
Laura Dowdy, an eyewitness who led police to Greene’s residence and received a $350 reward, initially gave a recorded statement saying she had not seen the shooting but later told an officer (unrecorded) she saw it from her porch; she was later murdered on Oct. 27, 2012.
Greene was indicted and convicted by a jury of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, use of a firearm by a convicted felon, and related offenses; he was sentenced to life without parole for two murders plus additional terms.
At trial the State sought to admit Dowdy’s out-of-court statements under the forfeiture-by-wrongdoing hearsay exception (OCGA § 24-8-804(b)(5)); Greene argued the statements were improperly admitted and that the State knowingly used fabricated evidence to obtain their admission.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility of Dowdy’s statements under forfeiture-by-wrongdoing	State: Dowdy was made unavailable by Greene’s wrongdoing; her statements are admissible under OCGA § 24-8-804(b)(5)	Greene: Trial court erred; State failed to prove by preponderance that Greene procured Dowdy’s unavailability	Court: Even assuming discretion question, any error was harmless due to overwhelming and cumulative evidence of guilt; affirmed
Due process claim re: fabricated evidence (Napue)	Greene: Inconsistencies (recorded statement vs. officer’s testimony and physical layout) show State knowingly used false evidence to obtain admission of Dowdy’s statements, violating due process	State: Conflicting evidence does not prove knowing fabrication; inconsistencies are for the jury to resolve	Court: Presentation of inconsistent evidence does not establish that State knowingly used false testimony; trial not fundamentally unfair; claim rejected

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (established standard for sufficiency of evidence)
Davis v. Washington, 547 U.S. 813 (forfeiture-by-wrongdoing doctrine — witness absence obtained by wrongdoing forfeits confrontation)
Napue v. Illinois, 360 U.S. 264 (due process violated when State knowingly uses false evidence)
Hickman v. State, 299 Ga. 267 (trial court may admit unavailable declarant’s statements if defendant procured unavailability by wrongdoing)
Rutledge v. State, 298 Ga. 37 (admission of cumulative hearsay is harmless where other evidence is properly admitted)
Anthony v. State, 298 Ga. 827 (conflicts in evidence are for jury to resolve; inconsistent evidence does not by itself show unfair trial)
Dinkins v. State, 300 Ga. 713 (presentation of inconsistent evidence does not necessarily indicate prosecutorial misconduct)
London v. State, 274 Ga. 91 (cumulative hearsay harmless when other evidence supports conviction)
Fugitt v. State, 251 Ga. 451 (reversal where a material witness’ testimony was impossible and thus fabricated)
Anglin v. State, 302 Ga. 333 (standard of review for admission of evidence)
Malcolm v. State, 263 Ga. 369 (clarifying operation of law regarding vacated felony-murder counts)