Matthews v. State

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Matthews’s convictions for murder, battery, knife possession, financial transaction card theft, and obstruction. It held that the evidence was sufficient, the trial court properly excluded speculative third-party-suspect evidence, and Matthews’s custodial statement was voluntary under both constitutional and statutory standards. The court also rejected Matthews’s ineffective-assistance claims because the challenged objections would have been meritless or the evidence was harmless. No separate opinions were issued.