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Mosley v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Feb 19, 1981
278 S.E.2d 154 (Ga. Ct. App. 1981)

Opinion

61011.

DECIDED FEBRUARY 19, 1981.

Voluntary manslaughter. Fulton Superior Court. Before Judge Langford.

Michael E. Hancock, for appellant.

Lewis R. Slaton, District Attorney, Joseph J. Drolet, Margaret V. Lines, R. Michael Whaley, Assistant District Attorneys, for appellee.


Mosley was convicted in the Superior Court of Fulton County of voluntary manslaughter. He appeals (1) on the general grounds and (2) contends the trial court erred in allowing a state exhibit, a written statement by appellant, to go to the jury.

On the night of November 21, 1979, Jerome Vincent was shot and killed in Atlanta. The police were called and when Officer Beavers arrived at the scene, Mosley approached him and said "[y]ou want to talk to me, I just shot the guy." On trial Mosley testified that he and Vincent got into an argument and Vincent wanted to fight. Mosley did not want to fight, but he went to a friend's and got a gun. Mosley returned to his apartment, and Vincent, who was there, kept arguing and pointing his finger at Mosley. Mosley testified that Vincent wouldn't leave him alone, and when Vincent reached back on the table and picked up what Mosley thought was a knife, Mosley shot him. Mosley testified, in essence, that he shot Vincent in self-defense.

1. It is well settled that the weight of the evidence and the credibility of witnesses are questions for the triers of fact. State v. Smith, 134 Ga. App. 602 ( 215 S.E.2d 345) (1975); Jones v. State, 147 Ga. App. 779, 781 ( 250 S.E.2d 500) (1978). This court passes on the sufficiency of the evidence, not its weight, which was considered by the jury, Dillard v. State, 147 Ga. App. 587, 588 ( 249 S.E.2d 640) (1978), and we find that a rational trier of fact could reasonably have found from the evidence adduced at trial proof of appellant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Fisher v. State, 151 Ga. App. 93 ( 258 S.E.2d 920) (1979).

2. Appellant's statement was admitted for impeachment purposes and allowed to go to the jury. Appellant made no objection to the statement's admission at trial, and it is well settled that this court will not consider questions raised for the first time on appeal. Sanders v. State, 134 Ga. App. 825, 826 ( 216 S.E.2d 371) (1975).

Judgment affirmed. Deen, P. J., and Birdsong, J., concur.


DECIDED FEBRUARY 19, 1981.


Summaries of

Mosley v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Feb 19, 1981
278 S.E.2d 154 (Ga. Ct. App. 1981)
Case details for

Mosley v. State

Case Details

Full title:MOSLEY v. THE STATE

Court:Court of Appeals of Georgia

Date published: Feb 19, 1981

Citations

278 S.E.2d 154 (Ga. Ct. App. 1981)
278 S.E.2d 154

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