A jury convicted Winston Clay Barrett of malice murder and related crimes and recommended a death sentence for the murder after finding beyond a reasonable doubt the following statutory aggravating circumstances: the murder was committed while Barrett was engaged in the commission of an aggravated battery, and the murder was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, or inhuman in that it involved torture and an aggravated battery to the victim before his death and manifested the defendant’s depravity of mind.1 See OCGA § 17-10-30 b 2, 7; 17-10-31 a. The trial court denied Barrett’s motion for new trial, and he appeals. For the reasons set forth below, this Court affirms.
1. The evidence showed the following. At approximately 5:30 a.m. on August 4, 2002, two Towns County deputy sheriffs drove through Clay Barrett’s neighborhood in Hiawassee after receiving a 911 call reporting that gunshots had been fired in the vicinity. When one of the deputies saw a light at Barrett’s residence, they stopped to investigate and discovered the body of Danny “Stumpy” Youngblood outside the home lying face-up in a pool of blood with “obvious brain matter” lying beside him. Youngblood, who was 5′ 7″ tall and weighed 204 pounds, had been pistol-whipped and badly beaten, had a large gunshot wound to the back of his head, and had a severe wound to his right eye. Barrett, who is 6′ 7″ tall and weighed 250 pounds at the time of the crimes, was inside the home sitting in a reclining chair watching television. When one of the deputies came to the doorway, Barrett told him, “I just shot a man. I just shot Stumpy.” The deputy inquired about a weapon, and Barrett told him that it was outside. When the deputy asked Barrett exactly where outside the weapon was located, Barrett lifted his left leg, displayed a nine-millimeter pistol, and tossed it onto the chair beside him. When additional law enforcement personnel arrived, Barrett refused their request that he move outside in order for them to conduct their investigation. As the officers assisted him out of his chair, they discovered that Barrett had a holster attached to his right side that contained a loaded .357 revolver, which was later determined to be the weapon that killed Youngblood.
