Georgia Court of Appeals, 2020

Kevon Lamar Watkins v. State

Kevon Lamar Watkins v. State
Georgia Court of Appeals · Decided March 13, 2020

Kevon Lamar Watkins v. State

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ March 02, 2020 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A20A1315. KEVON LAMAR WATKINS v. THE STATE.

Following a bench trial, the trial court found Kevon Lamar Watkins guilty of felony murder and aggravated assault (which the court merged into the murder conviction) and imposed a sentence of life in prison. After the trial court denied his motion for a new trial, Watkins appealed to this Court. We lack jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over “[a]ll cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed.” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III (8). Because a penalty of death may be imposed for the crime of felony murder, jurisdiction is proper in the Supreme Court. See OCGA § 16-5-1 (c), (e) (1); Neal v. State, 290 Ga. 563, 572 (722 SE2d 765) (2012) (Hunstein, C. J., concurring); see also State v. Thornton, 253 Ga. 524, 524 (1) (322 SE2d 711) (1984) (directing this Court to transfer “all cases in which either a sentence of death or of life imprisonment has been imposed upon conviction of murder”), overruled in part on other grounds as recognized in Elliott v. State, 305 Ga. 179, 205 (III) (C) (i) (824 SE2d 265) (2019). Accordingly, Watkins’s appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 03/02/2020 I certify that the above is a true extract from the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia.

Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.

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