Walton County Murder Convict Granted New Trial

Walton County Superior Court

Walton County, Ga. - A woman who had been convicted of murdering her husband in 2015 has been granted a new trial by the Georgia Supreme Court this past week.

The decision stems from her 2018 appeal. There were various issues with the witnesses and testimonies involved in her initial trial.

In its decision, the Georgia Supreme Court stated: “They were essentially an implicit admission of guilt, providing the most direct evidence that Sargent was involved in Peters' murder. These statements also cast a large shadow of suspicion over Agee, given her close association with Sargent at the time of the killing and their eventual marriage. Indeed, in its closing argument, the prosecution heavily emphasized Sargent's statements about his receiving life in prison or the death penalty if he told police what he knew about the murder.”

As a Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer, I will outline the law behind the offense of murder in today's post.

Murder in Georgia

Murder in Georgia is defined by Georgia Law in O.C.G.A. §16-5-1(a) as:

A person commits the offense of murder when he unlawfully and with malice aforethought, express or implied, causes the death of another human being.

There are a few very important terms that set murder apart from other homicide offenses in our state such as voluntary manslaughter in Georgia.

Our courts define malice as a wicked or corrupt motive or an intention to do evil and which the result is fatal and an unlawful objective to kill without justification or mitigation.

Express malice is the deliberate intention to unlawfully take the life of another human being, which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof. Malice shall be implied where no considerable provocation appears and where all the circumstances of the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart.

It probably goes without saying that the criminal offense of murder is classified as a felony in the state of Georgia. The penalty if convicted of murder is either life in prison without the possibility of parole, a life sentence, or the death penalty.

Practice Note

If you have been arrested in the state of Georgia - especially if the charges are classified as serious felonies - do not wait to contact a Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney today.