## Facts

- Robert Lee Hines, a convicted felon, went turkey hunting with others after consuming alcohol.
- The hunters split into two groups in the same general area; Hines knew others were nearby but did not know their exact locations.
- Near dusk, Hines heard what he believed was a turkey, saw movement in dense foliage about 80 feet away, and fired a shotgun without confirming the target.
- The shot killed another hunter, Steven Wood.
- After the shooting, Hines attempted to shift responsibility to someone else and hid his shotgun and gear; he later admitted the shooting and led police to the hidden items.

## Issues

1. Whether a conviction for felony murder predicated on possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is invalid because the jury acquitted the defendant of felony murder predicated on misuse of a firearm while hunting.
2. Whether possession of a firearm by a convicted felon can be an “inherently dangerous” felony sufficient to serve as the predicate felony for felony murder when assessed in light of the circumstances of the possession.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the felony-murder conviction.
- Georgia law does not allow reversal based on inconsistent verdicts; the acquittal on one felony-murder theory did not bar conviction on another arising from the same episode.
- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon may qualify as an inherently dangerous felony for felony-murder purposes when the manner and circumstances of possession create a foreseeable risk of death.
- The evidence supported treating Hines’s felon-in-possession offense as inherently dangerous under the circumstances, including drinking, firing at dusk into thick foliage, and knowing other hunters were in the area.

## Legal Principles

- In Georgia, inconsistent verdicts across counts do not, by themselves, invalidate a conviction; apparent inconsistencies may reflect lenity or compromise.
- For felony murder, a predicate felony may be “inherently dangerous” either by its nature or as committed under the circumstances, when it creates a foreseeable risk of death.
- A status-based felony such as possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is not inherently dangerous in every case, but it can support felony murder when the defendant’s manner of possession and use makes death a foreseeable result.

## Conclusion

The court upheld Hines’s felony-murder conviction, holding that Georgia permits differing verdicts on alternative felony-murder predicates and that felon-in-possession can serve as the predicate felony when, as carried out, it foreseeably endangers human life.


Hines v. State, 276 Ga. 491, 578 S.E.2d 868 (Ga. 2003)