Rufus C. Witherspoon v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ March 25, 2025

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A25A1404. RUFUS C. WITHERSPOON v. THE STATE.

In 1990, Rufus C. Witherspoon was convicted of felony murder and other crimes and sentenced to life in prison. The Supreme Court affirmed his convictions on direct appeal. Witherspoon v. State, 262 Ga. 2 (412 SE2d 829) (1992). In 2024, Witherspoon filed an extraordinary motion for new trial. The trial court denied the motion, and Witherspoon filed this direct appeal. We lack jurisdiction. Under our Constitution, 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 can be imposed for the crime of felony murder, jurisdiction is proper in the Supreme Court here. 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, this appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 03/25/2025 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.