Georgia Supreme Court Upholds 13 Murder Convictions, Vacates Firearm Convictions in One Case
Summary
The Supreme Court of Georgia has affirmed murder convictions and life prison sentences for thirteen defendants across multiple counties, including Bailey, Crawford, Ellison, Kelly, Larkins, Malcolm, McFarland, Monroe, Painter, Ragland, Sneed, and Spann. In Sneed v. The State (S26A0409), the Court vacated convictions and sentences for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, remanding the case to the trial court to correct sentencing merger errors. The Court also accepted a voluntary surrender of law license from attorney Leonard Richard Medley, III and dismissed discipline proceedings against attorney Darryl J. Ferguson, with Justice Carla Wong McMillian authoring a dissenting opinion in the Ferguson matter.
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GovPing monitors Georgia Supreme Court 2026 Opinions for new courts & legal regulatory changes. Every update since tracking began is archived, classified, and available as free RSS or email alerts — 42 changes logged to date.
What changed
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed murder convictions and life sentences for thirteen defendants across Chatham, Fulton, Hall, Dougherty, Troup, DeKalb, and Clay counties. In one case, Sneed v. The State, the Court vacated firearm-possession convictions and remanded to the trial court to correct sentencing merger errors — a procedural sentencing defect arising when multiple offenses should have been treated as a single offense for sentencing purposes. The Court also accepted a voluntary surrender of law license from one attorney and dismissed discipline proceedings against another.
Criminal defense attorneys and prosecutors handling felony cases in Georgia should review their sentencing records for potential merger errors similar to those identified in Sneed, particularly in cases involving multiple firearm-related charges. Defense counsel for Leonard Richard Medley, III should confirm that the voluntary surrender has been processed and that all bar records reflect the dismissal of the disciplinary matter.
Archived snapshot
Apr 22, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Supreme Court of Georgia Kathleen Joyner, Public Information Officer 330 Capitol Ave, SE Atlanta, Georgia 30334 404-651-9385 joynerk@gasupreme.us
SUMMARIES OF OPINIONS Published Tuesday, April 21, 2026 Please note: Opinion summaries are prepared by the Public Information Office for the general
public and news media. Summaries are not prepared for every opinion released by the Court, but only for those cases considered of particular public interest. Opinion summaries are not to be considered as official opinions of the Court. The full opinions are available on the Supreme Court website at www.gasupreme.us.
The Supreme Court of Georgia has upheld murder convictions and life prison sentences for: *John Bailey (Chatham Co.) BAILEY v. THE STATE (S26A0440) *Bobby Crawford (Fulton Co.) CRAWFORD v. THE STATE (S26A0078) *Deon Ellison (Hall Co.) ELLISON v. THE STATE (S26A0752) *David Kelly (Dougherty Co.) KELLY v. THE STATE (S26A0469) *Matthew Larkins (Fulton Co.) LARKINS v. THE STATE (S26A0306) *Deqaveon Malcolm (Fulton Co.) MALCOLM v. THE STATE (S26A0057) *Travis McFarland (Troup Co.) MCFARLAND v. THE STATE (S26A0403) *Tonya Monroe (Fulton Co.) MONROE v. THE STATE (S26A0060) *Gregory Painter (Fulton Co.) PAINTER v. THE STATE (S26A0382) *Sheldon Ragland (DeKalb Co.) RAGLAND v. THE STATE (S26A0495) *Calvin Sneed (Fulton Co.) SNEED v. THE STATE (S26A0409) [The Court also has vacated Sneed's convictions
and sentences for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and has remanded the case
back to the trial court to correct sentencing merger errors.]
*Morris Spann (Clay Co.) SPANN v. THE STATE (S26A0513) IN LAWYER DISCIPLINARY MATTERS, the Georgia Supreme Court has accepted the voluntary surrender of law license from the following attorney:
Leonard Richard Medley, III IN THE MATTER OF: LEONARD RICHARD
MEDLEY, III (S26Y0660) The Court has imposed no discipline and dismissed the matter involving attorney:Darryl J. Ferguson IN THE MATTER OF: DARRYL J.
FERGUSON (S26Y0093) [Justice Carla Wong McMillian has authored a
dissenting opinion in this matter.]
The Court also has issued opinions in the following cases:
- MILLER v. THE STATE (S26A0317)
- NUCKLES v. THE STATE (S26A0321)
- SHINE v. THE STATE (S26A0283)
- SMITH v. THE STATE (S26A0140)
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