Georgia high court upholds conviction in inmate strangling
Thomas Tiraboschi (Georgia Department of Corrections)
AUGUSTA, Ga. - The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the murder conviction of a former inmate at Augusta State Medical Prison accused of strangling his cellmate.
Thomas Tiraboschi was fairly tried and convicted in the 2013 death of 48-year-old Chris Lowery, the court ruled Tuesday, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
A Richmond County jury convicted the 43-year-old Tiraboschi in 2015, and a judge sentenced him to life without parole.
Tiraboschi told guards he had killed his cellmate, according to the Chronicle. His attorneys said the judge should not have allowed prosecutors to introduce evidence about Tiraboschi’s previous conviction for vehicular homicide and theft.
The Supreme Court said any error was harmless in part because of overwhelming evidence of Tiraboschi’s guilt, according to the Chronicle.
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