Opinion ID: 1217589
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Guilty But Mentally Ill Verdict

Text: In his cross-appeal, case number S08X0310, Cook argues that the habeas court erred by failing to address in the ineffective assistance claim whether potential mental health evidence could have supported a verdict of guilty but mentally ill. See OCGA § 17-10-131. We have held that the statute that provides for a verdict of guilty but mentally ill does not preclude a death sentence as the result of such a verdict. Lewis v. State, 279 Ga. 756, 764(12), 620 S.E.2d 778 (2005). Accordingly, the habeas court did not err in failing to address the merits of Cook's claim beyond addressing the role that potential mental health evidence might have played as mitigating evidence in the sentencing phase, which we addressed above.