FORSYTH, Ga. — Editor's Note: The video in this story is from Calmer's 2017 sentencing hearing.
The conviction of Monroe County man serving a life sentence for killing one deputy and injuring another has been upheld.
The Georgia Supreme Court released its decision Wednesday after hearing oral arguments in April.
The case goes all the way back to Sept. 2014 when family members called deputies to their home because Christopher Calmer had threatened to kill himself.
When deputies Jeffrey Wilson and Michael Norris arrived, a family member told them Calmer planned to provoke the officers into shooting them.
As the deputies entered the home, Calmer opened fire, killing Norris and shooting Wilson in the leg.
In June 2017, a jury convicted Calmer of nine charges, including murder.
Back in April, his lawyers argued before the Georgia Supreme Court that he should have been immune from prosecution until Georgia’s stand-your-ground law.
That law says people may use deadly force “in defense of habitation, self, or to avoid unlawful arrest.
They wrote, "Less than a minute after arriving, both deputies drew their weapons and unlawfully entered Mr. Calmer’s home without announcing themselves, without permission, without a warrant, and without probable cause. Mr. Calmer reacted to the intrusion, turning the gun from himself to the deputies.”
Defense lawyers argued the trial judge made an error by rejecting their pretrial motion, saying the charges against Calmer should be dropped. The judge also should have instructed jurors to consider whether the shootings were justified.
They also said Calmer had a long history of mental illness and physical ailments.
Monroe County prosecutors said the judge acted properly and the jury heard enough evidence against Calmer to convict him.
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