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Hall v. Lance

The Supreme Court reversed the habeas court's grant of defendant's habeas petition regarding his death sentences.

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A jury convicted Donnie Cleveland Lance of two counts of murder and of related crimes in connection with the deaths of his ex-wife, Sabrina “Joy” Lance, and her boyfriend, Dwight “Butch” Wood, Jr. The jury sentenced Lance to death for each of the murders, and this Court affirmed his convictions and sentences unanimously. Lance v. State , 275 Ga. 11 560 SE2d 663 2002. Lance filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on May 29, 2003, and he amended the petition on August 25, 2005. After conducting an evidentiary hearing, the habeas court granted the petition with respect to Lance’s death sentences and denied the petition with respect to his convictions. The Warden has appealed in Case Number S09A1536, and Lance has cross-appealed in Case Number S09X1538. In the Warden’s appeal, we reverse and reinstate Lance’s death sentences. In Lance’s cross-appeal, we affirm. I. Factual Background

The evidence at trial showed that Lance had a long history of abusing Joy Lance both before and after they divorced, including kidnapping her, beating her with his fist, a belt, and a handgun, strangling her, electrocuting her with a car battery, and threatening her with a flammable liquid, handguns, and a chainsaw. He had repeatedly threatened to kill her himself, and he had once inquired of a relative about what it might cost to hire someone to kill her and Butch Wood. Lance kicked in the door of Butch Wood’s home in 1993 armed with a shotgun, loaded a shell into the chamber of the shotgun, and then fled only after a child in the home identified and spoke to Joe Moore, Lance’s friend who was accompanying Lance that night.

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