The Georgia Supreme Court rejected an inmate's effort to reverse his murder conviction on Tuesday, but the court’s opinion also paints a picture of gang life at Hancock State Prison.
Diante Thompson, a member of the “Sex, Money, Murder” sect of the East Coast Bloods gang, was convicted in 2019 of murdering fellow gang member and inmate Bobby Ricks. They were both serving time at Hancock State Prison.
In October 2017, prosecutors believe Ricks was ensnared in a dispute between him and his own gang that ultimately led to his brutal stabbing by four fellow gang members.
“Ricks fought his way out of the shower stall and ran away, naked and bleeding, with the four inmates chasing him… and fell to the ground,” the opinion read. “As Ricks laid on the ground, the four inmates stabbed him repeatedly with sharp metal objects.”
The medical examiner testified in court that Ricks was stabbed 11 times with injuries to his back, ribs, liver and right kidney, the court explained in its decision. He died while on the way to the hospital.
But according to the documents, prosecutors believe Ricks was stabbed because he was accused of homosexual activity, which the gang had a “strict prohibition” against.
While addressing Thompson's appeal, the high court's ruling also gives a glimpse of gang life behind bars, and how Ricks running afoul of these rules likely led to his death.
Failed appeal:
Thompson was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of Ricks.
But over six years after Ricks' killing, Thompson appealed to the Supreme Court of Georgia, hoping to get his conviction thrown out. He argued the evidence against him was “constitutionally insufficient,” the prosecutor made two impermissible statements and his attorney failed to object and correct those statements.
He argued the prosecutor incorrectly told the jurors to consider Thompson's guilt along with the other men accused of carrying the attack on Ricks. Plus, the prosecutor said there were no other suspects who could have been the “real killer.”
In their decision, however, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled the conviction was perfectly legal.
They say that even if the statements were improper, Thompson failed to show these statements and his attorney not objecting would have likely caused the jury to find him not guilty.
The court found there were other fail-safes in the jury's instructions to minimize the impact of the prosecutor's statement, and they said the evidence against Thompson was strong enough to convict.
They had eyewitness accounts, video surveillance and other evidence that gave a rational juror grounds to convict Thompson beyond a reasonable doubt, the court determined.
“We cannot say that, had the defense counsel objected, there is a reasonable probability that the result of the Appellant’s trial would have been different,” the court wrote in its opinion.
Because of that, they rejected Thompson's effort to get a new trial.
Gang life behind bars:
Because gang life was at the center of the case against Thompson, the court’s ruling gave a glimpse at gang life at Hancock State Prison in Sparta.
While incarcerated, gang affiliation is not left at the door. In fact, gangs are such a fact of life there was a correction officer at Hancock State Prison whose job was to track street gang activity at the prison.
He said in court that there were three sects of the East Coast Bloods gang within the prison: “Sex, Money, Murder” (also known as “Rollack”), “G-Shine” and "Nine-Trey.” There was also the “Inglewood Family Gasher” sect of the West Coast Bloods that also has a presence in the prison.
In the H-1 block where the stabbing of Ricks happened, the officer said all four people involved were “Sex, Money Murder” members. The gang's rules were how Rick ran afoul.
“The officer explained that Bloods live by various rules, including a strict prohibition on homosexuality," according to the opinion. "The officer also explained that if a Blood gang member violates one of the rules, a ‘hit’ is placed on him and that person is called a ‘dub.’”
Because of past allegations of homosexual relations by Ricks at his previous prison, other people in the prison told authorities that it led to a “hit” being placed on him.
In these cases of broken rules, the expert says the perpetrators are generally other members of the gang.
“Ronfroe also pointed to Rick’s gang affiliation when explaining why he believed Ricks was killed,” the court’s opinion explained. “Renfroe explained that, generally, if Ricks was going to be punished for breaking the gang’s rules, it would be by members of his own gang.”
When Ricks was stabbed, the opinion says there was only one guard overseeing the entire dorm.