Kidd v. State, 304 Ga. 543

On June 23, 1998, Tameka Woody was shot and killed after an altercation in a housing project; Tiwanna Kidd was seen approachin gWoody with a gun, place it to Woody’s face, and shoot her. Kidd admitted to police she shot Woody, later claimed it was an accident and alternatively claimed self‑defense at trial.
Kidd was indicted for malice murder, felony murder (predicated on aggravated assault), and possession of a firearm during a felony; convicted after a December 1999 jury trial and sentenced to life plus consecutive firearm time.
Kidd filed an untimely motion for new trial, sought and eventually received leave for an out‑of‑time appeal; her appeal was timely filed after the trial court denied her amended motion for new trial in 2016.
On appeal Kidd raised three principal claims: (1) the prosecutor improperly referenced the defense theory of accident in opening; (2) the trial court erred in denying suppression of her custodial statement as involuntary and given without a written Miranda waiver; and (3) the court erred by charging the jury on “revenge for a prior wrong.”
The jury rejected Kidd’s accident/self‑defense account; the appellate court found the evidence sufficient to support convictions and affirmed on all issues.

Issue	Kidd’s Argument	State’s Argument	Held
Prosecutor’s opening remark referencing "accident" defense	Comment was improper and prejudicial because it forecast defense evidence not yet presented	The remark merely anticipated a defense theory without predicting evidence; any error was harmless because Kidd testified to accident and jury instructed that arguments are not evidence	No reversible error; comment not harmful
Admissibility of custodial statement (Miranda waiver/coercion)	Confession involuntary due to coercion; no written waiver of Miranda rights rendered waiver invalid	Officer orally gave Miranda warnings, Kidd waived orally and spoke voluntarily; lack of written waiver is not fatal; credibility resolved for officer	Denial of suppression affirmed; waiver valid under totality of circumstances
Jury charge on "revenge for a prior wrong"	Trial court erred by giving such a charge (claimed)	Record shows no such charge was given to the jury; discussion only at charge conference	Claim without merit; no charge given
Sufficiency of the evidence	(Implicit) convictions not supported if shooting accidental or justified	Evidence showed Kidd pointed and shot the victim, eyewitnesses contradicted self‑defense/accident	Evidence was sufficient to sustain convictions

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (establishes standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence)
Parker v. State, 277 Ga. 439 (improper forecasting of defense evidence in opening can be error; harmlessness analysis)
Milinavicius v. State, 290 Ga. 374 (totality of circumstances test for admissibility of in‑custody statements)
Spain v. State, 243 Ga. 15 (no constitutional requirement that Miranda waiver be written)
Humphreys v. State, 287 Ga. 63 (written/oral waiver is strong but not necessary proof of valid waiver)
Raulerson v. State, 268 Ga. 623 (credibility findings on voluntariness upheld unless clearly erroneous)
Cheley v. State, 299 Ga. 88 (trial court credibility determinations on confessions reviewed for clear error)
Malcolm v. State, 263 Ga. 369 (procedural note on merger/vacatur of felony murder count)
Owens v. State, 303 Ga. 254 (comments on inordinate delay in post‑conviction proceedings)