Butler v. State

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Butler’s convictions and sentences for malice murder and related offenses. It held that the evidence was sufficient to establish Butler’s participation in the murder and proximate causation, that his jury-trial waiver was knowing, voluntary, and intelligent, and that his ineffective-assistance claims failed. The court also held that the trial court’s incorrect use of merger terminology did not affect the sentence because the felony-murder verdicts were vacated by operation of law.