Torres v. State, 297 Ga. 32

On April 26, 2008, Fernando Gonzalez was found shot to death in a house he shared with Abel Torres and two others; Torres was the only resident known to keep a handgun and was seen leaving Gonzalez’s bedroom with a pistol.
Two housemates escaped after Torres ordered them at gunpoint into a truck; they later reported the shooting and provided Torres’s black bag to police. Gonzalez sustained multiple gunshot wounds; cause of death was two head wounds.
Torres traveled by cab and bus after the killing; he bought a bus ticket and was later detained in Birmingham, Alabama. Blood on his pants matched Gonzalez’s DNA.
Torres was indicted on multiple counts including malice murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony; tried and convicted by a jury and sentenced to life plus additional terms.
Torres had a documented history of mental-health issues, including an earlier finding of incompetence, later reevaluated as competent by Dr. Browning, who also concluded Torres was criminally responsible; defense-commissioned expert Dr. Ryback reportedly opined Torres was "not criminally responsible," but trial counsel elected not to pursue a mental-health defense.
Torres moved for a new trial claiming ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to pursue a mental-health (insanity/criminal responsibility) defense; the trial court denied the motion and the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether trial counsel was ineffective for not pursuing a mental-health defense	Torres: counsel unreasonably rejected a mental-health defense despite documented history and exculpatory expert report	State/Trial counsel: counsel reasonably relied on multiple evaluations (Dr. Browning and hospital doctors), concerns about voluntary intoxication and credibility, and strategic choice to assert misidentification/denial of commission	Counsel was not ineffective; decision was a reasonable strategic choice after consultation and evidence review

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for sufficiency of evidence applied)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective assistance of counsel two-prong test)
Allen v. State, 293 Ga. 626 (application of Strickland in Georgia)
Jimmerson v. State, 289 Ga. 364 (deference to counsel's strategic choices when supported)
Freeman v. State, 295 Ga. 820 (strategic decisions after thoughtful consideration not deficient)
Boykins v. State, 294 Ga. 277 (incompatibility of insanity defense with asserting non-perpetration)