Jones v. State

I respectfully dissent.

OCGA § 24-9-20 (b) provides that “ [i]f a defendant in a criminal case wishes to testify and announces in open court his intention to do so, he may so testify in his own behalf. If a defendant testifies, he shall be sworn as any other witness and may be examined and cross-examined as any other witness, except that no evidence of general *39bad character or prior convictions shall be admissible unless and until the defendant shall have first put his character in issue.” (Emphasis supplied.) The Phillips case, 254 Ga. 370 (329 SE2d 475), involved a defendant’s statement on…