Hagans v. State

Beasley, Judge.

Indicted for murder, defendant appeals his conviction of voluntary manslaughter, OCGA § 16-5-2. His enumerations of error are: the court erred in not admitting proof of the victim’s violent character; the court erred in admitting his own statement into evidence; the evi dence was insufficient to support the verdict.

1. When relying on the defense of justification in a homicide case, in order to introduce evidence of the violent nature of the deceased victim, defendant must make a prima facie showing that the victim was the aggressor, was assailing defendant, and defendant was…