Walker v. State
308 Ga. 33
| Ga. | 2020Background
- Victim: Daijah White, a ten‑month‑old infant who died from blunt‑force head and abdominal injuries; medical testimony showed multiple bruises over days and fatal blows hours before death.
- At the time of the fatal injuries Walker and the victim’s mother, Janice White, lived together; Walker was the only adult present in the hours immediately before Daijah’s death.
- Walker gave inconsistent accounts (fall from bed; blamed toddler sibling). While jailed, he sent a letter to White saying he had never lost any of his other children before Daijah and "I never hurt any of them before her."
- Walker and White were tried jointly in 2005; Walker was convicted of malice murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Other counts were merged or vacated.
- Walker was later granted leave to file an out‑of‑time motion for new trial (filed 2017); the trial court denied relief in March 2019, and Walker appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court.
Issues
| Issue | Walker's Argument | State's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of circumstantial evidence to convict of malice murder | Evidence only showed Walker was present; alternative reasonable hypotheses (another person, accidental fall) not excluded | Medical and other evidence excluded fall/accidental explanations; Walker was sole adult and made incriminating jailhouse statement | Evidence sufficient under OCGA circumstantial‑evidence standard and Jackson v. Virginia; conviction affirmed |
| Jury instruction misstating elements (e.g., mention of "criminal negligence" in definition; "malice or forethought" slip) | Misstatements could mislead jury about intent and elements | Any verbal inaccuracy was isolated; jury otherwise correctly instructed on elements and indictment language | No reversible error; charge taken as whole was accurate |
| Jury instruction before felony‑murder charge and reasonable‑doubt language (“does not mean ... possibility that defendants may be innocent”) | Misleading sequencing and disapproved reasonable‑doubt wording could confuse jury and lower State’s burden | Any misstatements were slips; overall charge properly explained presumption of innocence and burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt | No reversible error; charge as whole was adequate and not misleading |
| Ineffective assistance of counsel (multiple failures: not objecting to co‑defendant’s testimony, not objecting to certain witness remarks, courtroom movement restriction, untimely objection to prosecutor’s closing, not requesting confession instruction) | Counsel’s omissions were deficient and prejudicial, affecting trial outcome | Counsel made strategic choices; where deficient, Walker was not prejudiced given strength and cumulative nature of evidence | Strickland not satisfied: trial strategy and lack of prejudice; ineffective‑assistance claims fail |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (constitutional sufficiency standard)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective assistance standard)
- Akhimie v. State, 297 Ga. 801 (circumstantial evidence must exclude every reasonable hypothesis except defendant’s guilt)
- Black v. State, 296 Ga. 658 (reasonable‑hypothesis rule application)
- Nixon v. State, 284 Ga. 800 (circumstantial evidence sufficiency)
- Davenport v. State, 283 Ga. 171 (isolated verbal slips in charge not reversible if charge as whole is accurate)
- Coleman v. State, 271 Ga. 800 (disapproval of certain reasonable‑doubt phrasing)
- Allaben v. State, 299 Ga. 253 (review charge as whole)
- Delacruz v. State, 280 Ga. 392 (contextual evaluation of trial‑court misspeaking in charge)
- White v. State, 302 Ga. 806 (adequacy of burden‑of‑proof instruction when viewing charge as a whole)