Reaves v. State, 292 Ga. 545

Appellant Rodney Reaves was convicted of felony murder related to the death of his 11-year-old daughter Joella and other charges; the State sought the death penalty but the jury acquitted malice murder.
Joella died from renal failure caused by severe trauma; multiple injuries were observed, and a baseball bat and broken umbrella matched the child’s injuries were found at the home.
Appellant and Joella’s stepmother Charlott admitted discipline tactics in which Joella was restrained, spanked, hit, and tied for days in a garage, with Joella eventually dying.
Appellant moved for a new trial; he argued hearsay testimony by witnesses about Charlott’s statements should have been admitted and that jury instructions were improper, among other claims.
The trial court admitted evidence and charged the jury accordingly; the court later denied the motion for new trial, and appellate review followed.
Georgia’s Evidence Code enacted in 2013 is noted but the trial occurred in 2009 with pre-2013 rules at issue; the factual record remains as trial evidence relied upon by the jury.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Hearsay/co-indictee statements admissibility	Reaves argues statements by Charlott were necessary and trustworthy confessions.	Charlott’s statements were not confessions nor admissible under necessity.	No reversible error; statements not confessions and not sufficiently trustworthy under necessity.
Involuntary manslaughter lesser included offense	Court should have instructed involuntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense under count two.	No such instruction was supported by evidence; no error beyond plain error review.	No error; instruction not warranted by the evidence; plain error not established.
Ineffective assistance for uncalled witness	Trial counsel were ineffective for not calling Rodney Reaves, Jr. as a defense witness.	Prejudice shown by absence of the witness was not demonstrated.	No prejudice; missing witness claim failed because proffer of testimony was not provided.
Sufficiency of the evidence for felony murder	Evidence supported felony murder based on aggravated battery and cruelty to a child.	Challenge to sufficiency not stated explicitly here; trial evidence is sufficient.	Evidence was sufficient to authorize a rational juror to convict beyond reasonable doubt.

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. Supreme Court, 1979) (sufficiency review: rational juror could find guilt beyond reasonable doubt)
Drane v. State, 271 Ga. 849 (Ga. 1999) (necessity exception requires material, trustworthy, probative hearsay evidence)
Nix v. State, 280 Ga. 141 (Ga. 2006) (hearsay exemptions/harmlessness for cumulative evidence)
McNaughton v. State, 290 Ga. 894 (Ga. 2012) (trustworthiness analysis for necessity exception)
Brown v. State, 291 Ga. 892 (Ga. 2012) (trustworthiness and relevance in necessity analysis)
Moore v. State, 283 Ga. 151 (Ga. 2008) (charge on lesser included offenses must be authorized by evidence)
Kelly v. State, 290 Ga. 29 (Ga. 2011) (plain-error standard for unpreserved trial errors)
Grell v. State, 291 Ga. 615 (Ga. 2012) (uncalled witness testimony and admissibility)
Cawthon v. State, 289 Ga. 507 (Ga. 2011) (witness may testify to his own observations; non-hearsay limits)
Fugitt v. State, 256 Ga. 292 (Ga. 1986) (inquiry about damages or personal matters not hearsay if admissible for context)
Harris v. State, 274 Ga. 422 (Ga. 2001) (relevance of statements to guilt; harmless error considerations)