Cochran v. State

Full title: COCHRAN v. THE STATE

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia

Date published: Feb 21, 2005

609 S.E.2d 353 (Ga. 2005)

609 S.E.2d 353

Opinion

S05A0392.

DECIDED FEBRUARY 21, 2005.

Murder. Cobb Superior Court. Before Judge Grubbs.

Justin J. Wyatt, for appellant.

Patrick H. Head, District Attorney, Andrew J. Saliba, Amy H. McChesney, Assistant District Attorneys, Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General, Robin J. Leigh, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

FLETCHER, Chief Justice.

After this Court overturned Antonio B. Cochran's malice murder conviction,¹ the State elected to re-sentence Cochran to life in prison for the remaining felony murder conviction. On appeal, Cochran contends that the new sentence is void because the trial court failed to conduct a hearing before issuing the new sentence.

1 Cochran v. State, 276 Ga. 283 ( 576 SE2d 867) (2003).

In Williams v. State, however, this Court held that "a sentence imposed by a trial court in a non-death penalty case is not rendered void by the court's failure to conduct a pre-sentence hearing under OCGA § 17-10-2."² Moreover, felony murder carries a mandatory life sentence, and as that was the only conviction at issue, the sentence imposed is required by law and Cochran suffered no harm by the failure to hold a pre-sentence hearing.

2 271 Ga. 686, 691 ( 523 SE2d 857) (1999).

Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur.

DECIDED FEBRUARY 21, 2005.