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Thornton v. State

The trial court properly declined to vacate the defendant's conviction for conspiracy to commit murder after her only alleged co-conspirator was acquitted of conspiracy by the same jury.

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Appellant Patti Thornton was charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, making false statements, and tampering with evidence; her co defendant, Walter Booth, was charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and making false statements. A jury found appellant not guilty of murder but guilty of the remaining charges, and the same jury acquitted Booth of murder and conspiracy to commit murder but found him guilty of making false statements. Thornton v. State, 331 Ga. App. 191 770 SE2d 279 2015. On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed appellant’s convictions, relying on cases abolishing the inconsistent verdict rule. See United States v. Powell, 469 U.S. 57 105 SCt 471, 83 LE2d 461 1984; Milam v. State, 255 Ga. 560 341 SE2d 216 1986. We granted appellant’s petition for certiorari, posing the following question to the parties: Did the Court of Appeals err when it affirmed appellant’s conviction for conspiracy to murder although her sole co-conspirator was acquitted of conspiracy to murder by the jury before which they were jointly tried Because we answer the question in the negative, the judgment is affirmed.

1. The facts are set forth in Thornton v. State, supra, 331 Ga. App. at 191-194 as follows:

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