Williams v. State, 312 Ga. 195

On August 30, 2006, Andrew Steven Coleman and Martial “Montrell” Washington were shot; Williams was accused of shooting Coleman and co-defendant Bostick shot Washington after a drug transaction in a park.
Williams was indicted on two counts of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, armed robbery, and firearm-possession counts; a jury convicted him of the murders and related offenses and he received consecutive sentences including life for each murder.
Gabriel Gulley, who testified for the State at Williams’s trial, later gave a preserved video deposition; in that post-trial deposition he added that the perpetrators spent time after the murders with two other persons named Brian and Gary.
Williams moved for a new trial alleging Gulley’s deposition was newly discovered evidence that undermined Gulley’s trial testimony and would likely produce a different verdict.
The trial court denied the motion, concluding the discrepancies were minor and that the deposition evidence would only impeach Gulley; Williams appealed to the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Gulley’s post-trial deposition is newly discovered evidence warranting a new trial	Williams: deposition revealed new, material facts (Brian and Gary) and inconsistencies showing false testimony that would likely change the verdict	State: deposition only impeaches Gulley, could have been developed at trial (Williams failed to cross‑examine), so lacks due diligence and is not materially likely to change outcome	Denied — court held Williams failed to show due diligence and the deposition only impeached the witness; no abuse of discretion

Wimberly v. State, 302 Ga. 321 (2017) (reciting elements for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence)
Timberlake v. State, 246 Ga. 488 (1980) (establishing the Timberlake test for newly discovered evidence)
Glover v. State, 296 Ga. 13 (2014) (trial-court denial of new-trial motion reviewed for abuse of discretion)
Smith v. Smith, 293 Ga. 563 (2013) (failure to cross-examine can show lack of due diligence)
Joyner v. State, 267 Ga. App. 309 (2004) (evidence obtainable earlier and lack of diligence defeats new-trial claim)
Malcolm v. State, 263 Ga. 369 (1993) (felony-murder counts may be vacated by operation of law)