A White County man serving a life sentence for killing his wife more than a decade ago will stay in prison.
The Georgia Supreme Court rejected Jonathan Hart's appeal on Monday, April 29.
Hart claimed in his appeal that he accidentally shot his wife Stephanie Hart in July 2008.
The two had been in the process of divorcing, and the opinion written by Justice Robert Benham cited that evidence as one reason the shooting was not believed accidental.
"There was evidence presented that Appellant was upset about the impending divorce; was angry with Stephanie for having an affair with his brother; had been violent with Stephanie on previous occasions; had pointed a gun at her head before; admitted to his mother that he had done something bad by shooting Stephanie; and fled the jurisdiction after the shooting occurred. Accordingly, there was ample evidence presented to authorize a rational jury to reject Appellant’s accident defense," Benham wrote.
Follow this link to read the full content of the Supreme Court decision.
The links below are for previous AccessWDUN stories on the Hart murder case.
