A man was sentenced to life without parole after a jury found him guilty but mentally ill in the shooting death of a World Changers Church leader in 2012, Channel 2 Action News reported Friday.
Floyd Palmer, a former member of the College Park church, shot praise leader Greg McDowell 12 times, prosecutors said.
Palmer’s attorney said her client is mentally ill and thought McDowell and the church were out to get him, Channel 2 had reported.
“Floyd Palmer was insane,” attorney Marissa Goldberg said. “He had insane thoughts in his mind.”
During the trial in Fulton County Superior Court, a witness broke down and testified she saw Palmer shoot McDowell several times, Channel 2 reported.
“Why you still shooting?” witness Mary Lou Harris asked. “He’s already down.”
A Fulton County police officer testified in a hearing in January 2013 they learned Palmer had applied, but had been rejected, for permits to buy two handguns at a Savannah gun show in August 2012.
“They learned that he falsified some information and was denied the guns,” John Cross said. The false information related to previous mental health issues, Cross said.
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