Holmes v. State, 318 Ga. 213

Shomari Tahir Holmes was convicted for felony murder and related crimes after the death of his 20-month-old son and abuse of his three-year-old stepdaughter.
Holmes admitted to physical abuse, causing Shomari’s death, but raised a mental illness defense, introducing evidence he suffered from schizophrenia at the time of the crimes.
A Cobb County grand jury indicted him on multiple charges, and the trial jury found him guilty but mentally ill, acquitting him of malice murder.
Holmes appealed, arguing that a recorded interview with the State’s psychiatrist should have been excluded and that the jury should have been instructed on the verdict of "guilty but with intellectual disability."
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Holmes’s convictions, rejecting his legal arguments.

Issue	Holmes's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Admission of Psychiatrist’s Audio Interview	Admission violated an earlier ruling against ultimate-issue testimony and his right to counsel	The interview did not state an opinion on the ultimate issue; no right to counsel or repeated Miranda warning was required	No abuse of discretion or constitutional error; admission affirmed
Jury Instruction on “Guilty but with Intellectual Disability”	Failure to instruct jury was legal error under statute	Holmes’s counsel withdrew the request for this charge, so no error occurred	Affirmative waiver by defense; claim fails

Dixon v. State, 302 Ga. 691 (2017) (court will not correct merger errors benefiting defendants absent exceptional circumstances)
Walker v. State, 290 Ga. 467 (2012) (no Sixth or Fifth Amendment right to counsel or repeated Miranda warning during State psychiatric exam when insanity is raised)
Nance v. State, 272 Ga. 217 (2000) (State entitled to examination when defendant places mental state at issue)
Godfrey v. Francis, 251 Ga. 652 (1983) (no constitutional right to counsel during court-ordered psychiatric evaluation)
Strickland v. State, 247 Ga. 219 (1981) (psychiatric evaluation is not a critical stage requiring counsel)
Lewis v. State, 312 Ga. 537 (2021) (affirmative waiver of requested jury charge bars later challenge)