A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Constitution’s protection against double jeopardy bars Georgia from retrying a defendant for malice murder after his earlier acquittal was thrown out as being logically inconsistent with other aspects of the verdict.

In a split verdict, a Georgia jury had acquitted Damian McElrath of malice murder for reason of insanity in the stabbing death of his adoptive mother, but found him guilty but mentally ill on separate charges for felony murder and aggravated assault based on the same underlying facts. The Georgia Supreme Court vacated the entire verdict after finding it to be “repugnant,” or contradictory, and authorized McElrath’s retrial.