Welbon v. State, 301 Ga. 106

Defendant Wayne Welbon was convicted by a jury (June 2014) of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony relating to the death of Taurean Reeves (Feb 2013). Sentence: life plus 5 years; other counts merged.
Key evidence: neighbor Jerry Gay testified Welbon said “I killed him,” described moving Reeves’s body, and reported prior threats; forensic and ballistics evidence linked rifle fire at the house and blood/DNA matching the victim; photo on Welbon’s phone showed him holding rifles.
A detective testified, over Welbon’s objection, about admissions Welbon made during a 3–3.5 hour custodial interview at the station; Welbon did not confess but discussed the drug house, money disputes, and an AK-type rifle.
At a mid-trial Jackson–Denno hearing, the trial court viewed part of the interview tape, heard testimony that Welbon was shackled to the floor and Mirandized, and ruled the statements admissible. The recording was not made part of the appellate record.
On motion for new trial, the trial court denied suppression, stating (incorrectly) that Welbon bore the burden to show his statements were involuntary. Welbon appealed raising voluntariness and an ineffective-assistance jury-selection claim.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility/voluntariness of custodial statements under Due Process	Welbon: statements were involuntary (shackled, lengthy interview, detective’s remark “You and I have to have a conversation” could be coercive); should be suppressed	State: statements voluntary (Miranda warnings given; remark was remote and not coercive in context)	Court: Trial court applied wrong burden (placed on Welbon). Remanded for reconsideration under correct standard (State bears burden to prove voluntariness) and for specific factual findings; vacated denial of new trial.
Ineffective assistance for failure to strike a prospective juror for cause	Welbon: trial counsel was ineffective in not moving to strike a particular juror	State: (not resolved on merits)	Court: Declined to decide; preserved to be raised again if denial of new trial is affirmed on remand.

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (legal-sufficiency standard for convictions)
Lego v. Twomey, 404 U.S. 477 (State bears burden to prove voluntariness by preponderance)
State v. Chulpayev, 296 Ga. 764 (voluntariness—totality of the circumstances)
State v. Troutman, 300 Ga. 616 (review: accept trial court fact findings unless clearly erroneous; independently apply law)
State v. Davison, 280 Ga. 84 (remand appropriate where trial court used wrong standard)
Bryant v. State, 268 Ga. 664 (failure to follow procedure on voluntariness may require remand)
State v. Colvard, 296 Ga. 381 (deference to trial court factual determinations when properly made)
Flournoy v. State, 294 Ga. 741 (harmless-error standard for constitutional errors)