Convicted cop killer Jamie Hood loses his bid for a new trial after the Georgia Supreme Court upholds his convictions and sentences.
Hood argued there were a number of errors in his 2015 trial for the 2010 and 2011 murders of Kenneth Omari Wray and Athens-Clarke County Police Officer Buddy Christian.
In Monday’s unanimous opinion, written by Justice Shawn E. LaGrua, the high court disagreed and rejected his arguments. “We discern no reversible error, so we affirm,” the opinion says.
Wray was killed in 2010 when prosecutors said the 30 year-old Athens-Clarke County Public Works Department employee refused to tell Hood where to find a particular drug dealer.
In 2011, Hood, then 33 years old, went on a crime and killing spree that left Christian dead and fellow officer Tony Howard injured. After hours of being holed up in an Athens apartment with several hostages, Hood surrendered himself to officers live on WSB-TV.
Following Hood’s trial, the jury found him guilty on 36 of the 70 counts, and Hood was sentenced to life without parole for the murder of Christian, life with the possibility of parole for the murder of Wray, and three additional sentences of life without parole plus 300 years for the remaining offenses.
Hood has an extensive criminal history, including a conviction and 12-year sentence for armed robbery.