Waters v. State, 317 Ga. 822

Roy Lee Waters was convicted of felony murder (found guilty but mentally ill) for shooting and killing his longtime girlfriend, Melvina Dunlap, in their shared bedroom.
After the incident, Waters admitted to several people, including his brother and pastor, that he shot Dunlap, and police recovered physical evidence (gun, shell casings, gunshot residue) linking him to the crime.
At trial, Waters asserted an insanity defense, supported by evidence of his history with schizophrenia and prescribed medications, but the State’s expert testified he was criminally responsible.
Waters was found incompetent to stand trial for over a year, then upon restoration of competency, was evaluated multiple times regarding criminal responsibility at the time of the offense.
The jury acquitted Waters of malice murder but found him guilty but mentally ill on felony murder and aggravated assault; the trial court denied his motion for new trial and found trial counsel’s performance constitutionally adequate.

Issue	Waters's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of Evidence	Evidence was insufficient to convict for felony murder.	Sufficient evidence existed; jury could reject insanity defense.	Evidence was constitutionally sufficient to convict Waters.
General Grounds for New Trial	Verdict contrary to law and justice; new trial warranted.	Trial court acted properly as thirteenth juror, verdict was just.	No merit; trial court exercised proper discretion.
Ineffective Assistance: No Defense Expert	Counsel failed to obtain expert on criminal responsibility, harming defense.	Counsel’s strategic decision after consulting with experts was reasonable.	Not deficient; reasonable trial strategy.
Ineffective Assistance: No Medications Expert	Counsel should have offered expert on side effects of medication.	Waters did not show prejudice from absence of such testimony.	No prejudice; claim fails without evidence of what expert would have said.

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (constitutional standard for sufficiency of evidence)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (standard for ineffective assistance of counsel)
Bates v. State, 313 Ga. 57 (application of Strickland in Georgia courts)
Jones v. State, 314 Ga. 692 (jury's role in assessing witness credibility and weight of evidence)
King v. State, 316 Ga. 611 (trial court’s role as thirteenth juror in motions for new trial)
Allen v. State, 317 Ga. 1 (requirement to present evidence of what expert testimony would have been to show prejudice in IAC claims)