Legal Opinion
O'NEAL v. State
Supreme Court of Georgia
Decided February 19, 1985No. 41593PublishedCited by 53 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
Bell, Justice.
John Sapp O’Neal was convicted of the shotgun murder of Steven Thompson, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He appeals.
On April 22, 1983 Thompson and O’Neal were arguing over a $30 debt O’Neal claimed Thompson owed him. At the climax of the dispute O’Neal, armed with a sawed-off shotgun, chased Thompson, who was unarmed, into the backyard of a house. O’Neal fired his gun, striking Johnson. Johnson attempted to scale a fence enclosing the yard, but O’Neal reloaded his gun and fired another blast, again striking the victim. O’Neal reloaded his gun again and placed the muzzle…
2Cases cited13 opinions
- Jackson v. VirginiaSupreme Court of the United States · 1979
- Anders v. CaliforniaSupreme Court of the United States · 1967
- Smith v. StateSupreme Court of Georgia · 1981
- Pulliam v. StateSupreme Court of Georgia · 1976
- Patterson v. StateSupreme Court of Georgia · 1975
8 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by53 opinions
- Frazier v. StateSupreme Court of Georgia · 1987
- Johnson v. StateSupreme Court of Georgia · 1999
- Johnson v. StateSupreme Court of Georgia · 2000
- Potts v. StateSupreme Court of Georgia · 1991
- Rich v. StateSupreme Court of Georgia · 1985
48 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.