Williams v. State, 301 Ga. 829

Deron Williams was convicted by a jury of malice murder and related offenses for the 2012 bludgeoning death of his on‑again, off‑again partner, Decarla Lomax; murder weapon not recovered.
Evidence included prior domestic violence between Williams and Lomax, testimony that Williams had threatened to kill her, and witness James Ryan’s account of a 2008 hammer attack that led to Williams’ arrest.
Defense testimony: Williams claimed he “blacked out,” strangled Lomax, and struck her several times with a hammer; he later admitted to family he had “accidentally” killed her.
At trial the State introduced a certified copy of Williams’ first offender plea from the 2008 incident to impeach a witness’s implication that the earlier charges were dismissed.
The medical examiner testified at trial about timing/positioning of wounds with impressions that defense contends were not disclosed in writing pretrial; defense did not move for immediate relief during trial but cross‑examined extensively.
The trial court relied on first offender pleas to sentence Williams as a recidivist to life without parole; appeal challenges admissibility of the first offender record, alleged discovery violation, ineffective assistance, and recidivist sentencing.

Issue	Williams' Argument	State's Argument	Held
Admissibility of first offender plea	Plea is not a "conviction" and thus inadmissible impeachment	Admissible to impeach witness by contradiction (not to show conviction)	Admission permissible for impeachment by contradiction; if error, harmless given overwhelming evidence
Discovery violation (undisclosed ME opinions)	State failed to provide written ME opinions under OCGA §17‑16‑4(a)(4); new trial warranted	Any violation not raised during trial, so claim waived; trial court lost opportunity to fashion remedy	Waived for failure to object at trial; no plain error review; no new trial awarded
Ineffective assistance for not seeking relief/continuance or expert	Counsel’s failure to seek continuance, expert, or mistrial was deficient and prejudicial	Counsel cross‑examined ME effectively; tactical choices reasonable; no prejudice shown	Counsel’s performance not deficient in a way no competent attorney would choose; no prejudice shown; claim denied
Use of first offender pleas for recidivist sentencing	First offender pleas are not convictions and cannot be used to enhance sentence	Trial court treated them as convictions under OCGA §17‑10‑7(c)	Error: vacate sentence and remand for resentencing without using first offender pleas as convictions

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (sufficiency of the evidence standard)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective assistance two‑prong test)
Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. 86 (deference to trial counsel; strong presumption of reasonable performance)
Davis v. State, 269 Ga. 276 (first offender plea not a conviction; limited admissibility)
Young v. State, 297 Ga. 737 (trial court’s evidentiary rulings reviewed for abuse of discretion)
Brown v. State, 288 Ga. 902 (tactical decisions not ineffective unless patently unreasonable)