Hanson v. State

Bell, Justice.

The appellant, James Robin Hanson, was convicted of malice murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He appeals, and we affirm. *

On July 20, 1987, a series of altercations in Newnan, Georgia, between Hanson and the victim, Benjamin Crews, culminated in Hanson killing Crews with a single shot from a pistol. Earlier that day, Hanson, Crews, and Pierce Shaw (a friend of Hanson) were drinking together at a pond in Newnan. During the course of the drinking session, Hanson and Crews engaged in a fistfight. When the fight ended, Crews went to the house of his brother, Williams…