Jackson v. State

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Jackson’s convictions for murder and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony. It held that the evidence did not warrant jury instructions on voluntary manslaughter or insanity because Jackson’s conduct reflected a planned response to a longstanding suspicion rather than sudden irresistible passion, and the record did not show that he lacked the capacity to distinguish right from wrong. The court also concluded that sentencing-merger errors did not require remand because they did not alter Jackson’s ultimate sentence.