has exercised the right to remain silent is not to be used against the defendant at trial). 49 Jefferson, 312 Ga. App. at 852 (6); see Whitaker, 283 Ga. at 524 (3) (noting that an improper comment on the defendant’s silence does not necessarily require a reversal). 50 Whitaker, 283 Ga. at 524 (3) (punctuation omitted); see Jefferson, 312 Ga. App. at 852-53 (6) (explaining that “ [t] he grant or denial of a mistrial is within the trial court’s sound discretion, and the appellate court will not interfere with the trial court’s exercise of that discretion unless it is clear that a mistrial was essential to preserve the right to a fair trial.” (punctuation omitted)). 51 Whitaker, 283 Ga. at 524 (3) (punctuation omitted); see Parks v. State, 281 Ga. App. 679, 681 (2) (637 SE2d 46) (2006) (<HOLDING>). 52 Whitaker, 283 Ga. at 524 (3) (punctuation
holding that comment on defendants silence was not reversible error because inter alia it did not have the effect of being probative on guilt or innocence holding that trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying a mistrial and instead giving a curative instruction when an improper comment on a defendants silence was not directed to any particular statement or defense offered by the defendant was made during the witnesss explanation of the course of events and did not have the effect of being probative on the issue of guilt or innocence holding that an infringement on the defendants fundamental due process right in the form of a comment on the defendants silence by the prosecution did not rise to level of plain error holding a prosecutor may not comment on a defendants silence holding that comment by prosecutor in closing argument that defense counsel did not produce evidence of the defendants innocence was not a comment on the defendants failure to testify