Walker-Madden v. State
299 Ga. 32
Ga.2016Background
- In March 2008, two-year-old Gregory Anderson Jr. was staying with his mother, Daniella Bernard, her baby, and Bernard’s boyfriend Desmond Walker-Madden at a hotel; Gregory later suffered fatal abdominal trauma and rectal perforation and died on March 27, 2008.
- Walker-Madden was the only adult reported to be with Gregory when the fatal injuries occurred; he called 911 and later attempted to clean up and dispose of bloody clothing and bedding.
- Autopsy showed a forceful blow to the abdomen (splitting the pancreas) and rectal perforation by an object; both injuries caused fatal blood loss and were inflicted within hours of death.
- Walker-Madden was indicted and tried on multiple counts including malice and felony murder, aggravated assault, cruelty to children (1st degree), aggravated battery, and aggravated sexual battery; the jury convicted him on all counts and the trial court sentenced him to life without parole on one malice murder count.
- On appeal Walker-Madden challenged the trial court’s admission of three prior violent incidents against Bernard as similar-transaction evidence; he also raised sentencing issues concerning merger of convictions.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admissibility of similar-transaction evidence (three prior assaults on Bernard) | State: admitted to show course of conduct and bent of mind (domestic-violence context) | Walker-Madden: admission improperly showed propensity; familial relationship to victim lacking | Court: admission proper under old Evidence Code; familial relationship was shown and evidence not an abuse of discretion; even if error, it was harmless given overwhelming evidence |
| Sufficiency of the evidence for convictions | State: evidence (injuries, timeline, presence, cleanup, statements) supports convictions | Walker-Madden: did not contest sufficiency on appeal | Court: independently reviewed and found evidence legally sufficient under Jackson v. Virginia |
| Merger of convictions for sentencing (cruelty to children and aggravated sexual battery merged into malice murder) | State: trial court merged various counts in sentencing | Walker-Madden: benefited from merger (no separate sentencing) | Court: merger was erroneous for cruelty to children and aggravated sexual battery; vacated that portion and remanded for sentencing on those counts |
| Harmless error standard for evidentiary mistakes | State: erroneous admission of similar acts is nonconstitutional error and should be tested for harmlessness | Walker-Madden: argued prejudice from similar-transaction evidence | Court: applied nonconstitutional harmless-error test and found any error highly probably did not contribute to verdict |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (legal sufficiency standard)
- Lamar v. State, 297 Ga. 89 (standards for similar-transaction evidence under old Evidence Code)
- Brown v. State, 295 Ga. 804 (admissible purposes: course of conduct, bent of mind)
- Neal v. State, 290 Ga. 563 (domestic violence prior acts logical connection)
- Brinson v. State, 289 Ga. 150 (violence against adult partner admissible to show bent of mind toward family member)
- Collum v. State, 281 Ga. 719 (short-term cohabitation did not preclude admission of prior domestic-violence acts)
- Reed v. State, 291 Ga. 10 (standard of review for similar-transaction evidence)
- Peoples v. State, 295 Ga. 44 (harmless-error analysis for evidentiary errors)
- Linson v. State, 287 Ga. 881 (merger analysis: cruelty and murder do not necessarily merge)
- Smith v. State, 298 Ga. 357 (remand for sentencing where merger was improper)
- Hulett v. State, 296 Ga. 49 (merger and sentencing precedents)
- Malcolm v. State, 263 Ga. 369 (vacatur of duplicate murder verdicts)