Title: State v. Lawrence
Citation: 262 Ga. 714, 425 S.E.2d 280
Docket Number: S92A1552
State: Georgia
Issuer: Georgia Supreme Court
Date: February 5, 1993

262 Ga. 714 (1993) 425 S.E.2d 280 THE STATE v. LAWRENCE. S92A1552. Supreme Court of Georgia. Decided February 5, 1993. Robert E. Wilson, District Attorney, J. Michael McDaniel, Assistant District Attorney, for appellant. Marger &amp; Moore, Edwin J. Marger, Douglas H. Flint, for appellee. FLETCHER, Justice. Kim Lawrence was charged, in Count 3 of a nine-count indictment, with the felony murder of her minor son, Taiwan Kelley. Count 3 described the alleged crime more particularly as follows: In Count 6 of the same indictment, Lawrence was charged with cruelty to children, with that alleged crime described more particularly as follows: Lawrence filed a pre-trial motion seeking, among other things, to have Counts 3 and 6 of the indictment dismissed. Following a hearing on the motion, the trial court granted Lawrence's motion, in part, by dismissing Counts 3 and 6. It is from the dismissal of those counts that the state appeals. We affirm. OCGA § 16-5-70 (a) provides: The issue presented on appeal is whether oxygen is "necessary sustenance" within the context of the statute. The state argues that it is and urges this court to overrule a line of cases in which we have defined "necessary sustenance," in the context which that term is used in what is now OCGA § 16-5-70 (a), as "that necessary food and drink which is sufficient to support life and maintain health." Justice v. State, 116 Ga. 605, 606 (42 SE 1013) (1902); Caby v. State, 249 Ga. 32, 33 (287 SE2d 200) (1982). The present definition has been in place for over 90 years and, with it, OCGA § 16-5-70 (a) has withstood constitutional challenges which have alleged that the statute is void for vagueness and overbreadth. Accord Caby, 249 Ga. at 33. As the expanded definition of "necessary sustenance" which the state urges us to adopt may well create constitutional flaws in the statute, we decline the state's invitation and reaffirm the definition of that term first announced by this court in Justice, 116 Ga. at 606. Judgment affirmed. Clarke, C. J., Hunt, P. J., Benham, Sears-Collins and Hunstein, JJ., concur.