Twitty v. State
298 Ga. 204
| Ga. | 2015Background
- On July 24, 2006, Ian Mosley was abducted in South Carolina, placed in his car trunk, transported toward Georgia, and later shot on a boat ramp at the Lock and Dam park; his body was found the next morning in water at that park.
- Demetric Twitty was tried alone in Richmond County for malice murder, related felony counts, and firearm offenses; jury convicted and Twitty received life plus consecutive terms.
- Twitty challenged only venue on appeal, arguing the State failed to prove the crime occurred in Richmond County.
- Trial evidence placed the shooting on a specific boat ramp in or near the Lock and Dam; investigators and co-defendant Reeves corroborated Twitty’s admission about that location, but no witness at trial identified the county in which that boat ramp sits.
- The body was discovered in Richmond County and Richmond County officers investigated, but there was no trial evidence tying the location of the shooting to Richmond County specifically.
- The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed the convictions for failure of the State to prove venue beyond a reasonable doubt, while noting sufficiency of evidence on guilt was otherwise adequate and retrial is permitted.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the State proved venue (crime committed in Richmond County) | The body was found in Richmond County and Richmond County officers investigated, supporting venue there | Twitty argued the State did not prove the boat ramp where the shooting occurred was in Richmond County | Reversed: State failed to prove venue beyond a reasonable doubt because no evidence identified the county of the boat ramp where the cause of death was inflicted |
| Whether the discovery county (where body found) establishes venue when place of infliction is ascertainable | State: body found in Richmond County supports venue if place of infliction uncertain | Twitty: place of infliction (boat ramp) was known and therefore controls venue, not discovery location | Held: when cause of death location is known, discovery county does not control venue; discovery county applies only if infliction county cannot be readily determined |
| Whether involvement of Richmond County investigators can establish venue | State: involvement of Richmond County officers indicates venue in Richmond County (citing Chapman) | Twitty: investigators’ employment proves nothing about where killing occurred, only where body was found | Held: involvement of Richmond County officers, without evidence tying them to the scene of infliction, does not prove venue |
| Whether uncertainty about place of death (alive when dropped) affects venue | State: some evidence death occurred later, so place of death might be Richmond County | Twitty: place of infliction (shooting) is what matters and is not uncertain here | Held: even if place of death is uncertain, the place where cause of death was inflicted matters; here that place was the boat ramp and was not proved to be in Richmond County |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (legal-sufficiency standard for conviction) (court cited to confirm sufficiency of evidence as to guilt)
- Favors v. State, 296 Ga. 842 (2015) (merger error can be addressed sua sponte)
- Sales v. State, 296 Ga. 538 (venue must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt when in issue)
- Jones v. State, 272 Ga. 900 (venue is a jurisdictional fact and must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt)
- Chapman v. State, 275 Ga. 314 (2002) (officer’s county of employment may be relevant to venue in some contexts)
- In re B. R., 289 Ga. App. 6 (2007) (officer’s county of employment alone insufficient to establish venue)
- Thompson v. Brown, 288 Ga. 855 (2011) (reversal for failure to prove venue; urging prosecutors to prove venue and consider venue jury charge)
- King v. State, 271 Ga. App. 384 (2005) (investigator involvement does not prove location of infliction)
- Tankersley v. State, 261 Ga. 318 (1991) (distinguishing place of death from place where cause of death was inflicted)
- Grant v. State, 326 Ga. App. 121 (2014) (investigators could have established location but were not asked)