Stephens v. State

I concur fully in the majority’s affirmance of appellant’s life sentence. However, I write separately so as to explicate why, in my opinion, the Georgia Constitution provides this court with no independent authority to order a remand for a hearing wherein the prosecutor must defend the decision to seek the imposition of that sentence against appellant.

It is appellant’s contention that OCGA § 16-13-30 (d) is violative of the equal protection clause of the Georgia Constitution, Art. I, Sec. I, Par. II, because it discriminates against him as an African-American criminal defendant. It is…