Supreme Court sides with Georgia man on double jeopardy claim

The Supreme Court sided with a Georgia man’s double jeopardy claim on Wednesday after a jury acquitted him by reason of insanity for one count related to the murder of his adoptive mother, even though the jury convicted him on other counts.

In a decision reached unanimously on Wednesday, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote for the court that the jury’s determination that Damian McElrath was not guilty of malice murder due to insanity serves as a verdict of acquittal under the principle of double jeopardy, regardless of any disparities with the jury’s decisions on other charges.