Update published 12:00 p.m. Tuesday:
Northeastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Lee Darragh has issued a statement in response to a Georgia Supreme Court decision to overturn the conviction of a man in an Oakwood murder case.
The court ruled Tuesday morning that evidence had been improperly admitted in the trail of Emmanuel Kevin Harris, Jr. prior to his conviction for the murder of his then-girlfriend Jordan Gooch in 2021. Darragh said he disagrees with the ruling.
"Our office is certainly disappointed in the reversal in the case and believe it to have been wrongly decided. We instead wholeheartedly agree with the dissenting opinion in our favor which would have held the prior attack on another victim admissible," Darragh said. "We will gear up to re-try Harris as soon as reasonably practical to hold him accountable for his murder of Jordan Gooch."
Original story published 10:00 a.m. Tuesday:
The Georgia Supreme Court has reversed the murder conviction of Emmanuel Kevin Harris, Jr., who was convicted of killing his then-girlfriend, Jordan Gooch, in Oakwood in 2021.
The Court concluded that a Hall County trial court improperly admitted evidence about a prior aggravated battery involving a previous romantic partner that prejudiced the jury in his murder case. In the trial, Harris claimed he stabbed Gooch in self-defense. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
On appeal, Harris’s lawyers argued that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting evidence that included detailed testimony from a previous girlfriend and contained several graphic photos of her injuries.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the case on Aug. 20, 2024. Tuesday’s majority opinion, authored by Justice Andrew A. Pinson, stated that the evidence at issue “was not relevant to prove motive and its minimal probative value as to the issues of accident or mistake was substantially outweighed by its unfair prejudicial effect.”
As a result of the reversal of his murder convictions, Harris may be retried if the State so chooses. A dissenting opinion, authored by Justice Shawn Ellen LaGrua, said that the evidence of Harris’s aggravated battery on a previous romantic partner should have been allowed because it was relevant to prove motive and to disprove accident or mistake.
The State was represented by the Northeast Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General of Georgia.
