Tennessee Death Penalty News

[Rick4404]

I also understood that Tennessee would revert back to electrocution if lethal injection were ever declared to be unconstitutional by among other courts, the Tennessee Supreme Court or the United States Supreme Court. You are right that Daryl Holton had to specifically sign a piece of paper prior to his execution and choose the chair over lethal injection.

In theory, they COULD. But as Cynthia pointed out, they barely have the stones to carry out an execution even under the most ideal circumstances - let alone when it would be highly controversial or contested. 

I looked up Tennessee's statute relative to the means of execution to be used:

Title 40  Criminal Procedure 
Chapter 23  Execution of Judgment

Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-23-114  (2011)

40-23-114.  Death by lethal injection -- Election of electrocution.

  (a) For any person who commits an offense for which the person is sentenced to the punishment of death, the method for carrying out this sentence shall be by lethal injection.

(b) Any person who commits an offense prior to January 1, 1999, for which the person is sentenced to the punishment of death may elect to be executed by electrocution by signing a written waiver waiving the right to be executed by lethal injection.

(c) The department of correction is authorized to promulgate necessary rules and regulations to facilitate the implementation of this section.

(d) If lethal injection or electrocution is held to be unconstitutional by the Tennessee supreme court under the Constitution of Tennessee, or held to be unconstitutional by the United States supreme court under the United States Constitution, or if the United States supreme court declines to review any judgment holding lethal injection or electrocution to be unconstitutional under the United States Constitution made by the Tennessee supreme court or the United States court of appeals that has jurisdiction over Tennessee, or if the Tennessee supreme court declines to review any judgment by the Tennessee court of criminal appeals holding lethal injection or electrocution to be unconstitutional under the United States or Tennessee constitutions, all persons sentenced to death for a capital crime shall be executed by any constitutional method of execution. No sentence of death shall be reduced as a result of a determination that a method of execution is declared unconstitutional under the Constitution of Tennessee or the Constitution of the United States. In any case in which an execution method is declared unconstitutional, the death sentence shall remain in force until the sentence can be lawfully executed by any valid method of execution.

HISTORY: Acts 1913 (1st E.S.), ch. 36, § 1; Shan., §§ 7204, 7204a1; mod. Code 1932, § 11790; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 40-3117; Acts 1998, ch. 982, §§ 1-5; 2000, ch. 614, §§ 1-5.

 

[CSA FD]

Death row inmate gets another 18 years in prison

Aug. 31, 2011
 MEMPHIS — A Tennessee death row inmate has been given an additional 18 years in prison on charges connected with the dismemberment death he was convicted in.

James Hawkins was sentenced on Tuesday in Memphis to 12 years for filing a false missing persons report and 6 years for abuse of a corpse, according to The Commercial Appeal.

The 34-year-old Hawkins was convicted in June in the February 2009 stabbing, strangulation and dismemberment of Charlene Gaither.
http://nems360.com/view/full_story/15277251/article-Death-row-inmate-gets-another-18-years-in-prison?instance=secondary_stories_left_column
 

[JTiscool]

Instead of adding time, they should just speed up the execution as punishment for additional crimes the are convicted of while under a sentence of death.

[PAPASTALKIN]

Oh shit he is not guilty. just watch the video and you will agree! NOT!!!! Phu*k ovv scumsucker and take the justice juice. 
  Time to dieeeeeeeeee
http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/im-innocent-the-jessie-dotson-interview-rpt-20110523

'I'm Innocent': The Jessie Dotson Interview: MyFoxMEMPHIS.com

[ScoopD (aka: Pam)]

wow, I had not seen this interview.   He's crazy! and he deserves the sentences he received! 

[Granny B]

Jessie Dotson's Mother Speaks Out

Updated: Tuesday, 24 May 2011, 9:10 PM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 24 May 2011, 9:10 PM CDT

Jessie Dotson's Mother Speaks Out: MyFoxMEMPHIS.com

   
   

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - During his interview from death row, Jessie Dotson said he forgives his mother but will never forget. He claims she didn't tell the whole truth during his murder trial.

After confessing to police, Dotson told his mother, Priscilla Shaw, he killed his brother, 2 young nephews and 3 others inside the Lester Street home. She said the day Jessie confessed was worse than the day she found out about the murders, and called her son a monster.

Dotson's mother didn't want her face shown. She said she's trying to move on from the nightmare she's living. "That's my son no matter what and he's done the worst thing I can imagine anybody can do. I seen scary movies but I've never seen something like this and I'm living it."

During his death row interview, Dotson said he was upset that his mother didn't tell the jury police were making him confess to the Lester Street murders. He said, "I did confess but before I confessed I also told her they were trying to make me say I done it. I forgive her but I'll never forget you know, what she did."

We showed the video to his mother. "That just lets me know his mind's messed up," she said. "He don't have anything to forgive me for. If he had told me that they're trying to make me do this, I would have just gotten up and left."

The video continued. I ask Dotson if his mother has forgiven him. Dotson said, "Forgives me for what? What is she forgiving me for? You have to have done something to be forgiven for, right?" Shaw responded, "You killed my son and grandbabies!"

When asked if she believed her son's confession to the murders, Shaw said, "Yes. He was like a little baby and I looked at him dead in the his eyes, I held his hands for a long time before he looked up and said, 'I did it.' If he hadn't told me himself nobody on this earth could have told me he did it and I believed him."

Shaw said when her son confessed to her, it was worse than the day she found out about the murders. "I can accept that God took those people. I know it was ugly what happened in that house but God had it planned out. But for my son to tell me he took my other son's life, other people's lives and my grandson's lives, that was the worst day of all."

Dotson said his mother was the only family member he talked with. Now, she won't take his calls, which she said are filled with cursing and denial. "I don't take his calls, can't afford it, and the conversations we have I don't need right now. I love him with all my heart but there's nothing I can do for Jessie."

Dotson first went to prison at the age of 19. He served 13 years for killing a man over a drug deal. Dotson's mother said he was never the same.

She remembers a conversation he had with his sister one Christmas. "She said, you happy to be at home? He said no, I had better times in jail than I'm having now."

Dotson is convinced his conviction will be overturned and he'll be set free. His mother said if that happens, she won't be around to see it. "Only a monster could do the things done in that house. A monster did those things. If he gets out I'll get in my car and go as far as it'll take me. I can't be here." She added that her son scared her to death. "He did that to those little babies you think he care about me? No."

Shaw said the only thing that keeps her going is prayer, and she will not go to her son's execution. "I don't want to see it, I know it's coming one day but I don't want to see it… It's not up to me, whatever happens is in God's hands, he's going to have to pay for what he did and God gonna be the one."

But she said if he had been on the jury, she would have given him the death penalty as well. "I don't hold it against the jury decision they made, if I had been on the jury, yes, I would have given him that same sentence."

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/jessie-dotsons-mother-speaks-out-rpt-20110524

[Granny B]

Jessie Dotson to Wed in Prison
Lester Street Murderer Currently Engaged

Updated: Tuesday, 24 May 2011, 9:42 PM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 24 May 2011, 9:38 PM CDT

   

Jessie Dotson to Wed in Prison: MyFoxMEMPHIS.com

Memphis, Tn - Mass-murderer Jessie Dotson, is planning on tying the knot in prison. He met his now fiancé after he was arrested for the Lester Street murders.

Dotson's fiancé didn't want us to use her name. She says people ask her all the time if she's crazy. She says she's not.

But, she wouldn't talk about why she wants to marry Dotson or details about their relationship. She says she wears a ring she bought herself and says Dotson will wear one too in prison too. While prison weddings are allowed we found, there are strict regulations.

During his death row interview Jessie Dotson told us, "I have a fiancé."

The 36-year old convicted killer says he's planning to get married in August.

He says his fiancé, a 45-year old Horn Lake, Mississippi woman, started writing him letters, while he was locked up at 201 Poplar after being arrested for the Lester Street murders.

Dotson says, "we've been together for 3 years now."

In October, Dotson was convicted of killing 6 people at the Lester Street home, including his brother and 2 young nephews. A jury gave him 6 death penalty sentences.

Dotson says his fiancé went to the trial just a couple times.

When asked if his fiancé thought he did it, Dotson said, "Ummm...I can't really speak for her. She could tell me one thing, but think another."

His fiancé told us over the phone, she loves Jessie Dotson and does not think he's guilty. They've been engaged for 2 years.

Dotson's mother, Priscilla Shaw, says his fiancé called her once before, "First thing came to my mind is what is wrong with this lady? Is she crazy? How can you see a killer on the news and you want to marry him? Some lady's like jail men, maybe she's one of those. What kind of marriage are you gonna have with a man on death row?"

In 1987, the Supreme Court ruled that prisoners have a constitutionally protected right to marry. While unusual, prison weddings are not unheard of.

Convicted child-killer Damien Echols has been married more than 10 years. His wife, Lori Davis, a Manhattan architect, started writing him after he was arrested for killing three 8-year old West Memphis boys in 1994. The two married at an Arkansas prison chapel in 1999.

In November, Echols told us keeping a prison marriage alive, on death row, is difficult, "When you are married to someone out there you take it for granted, physical intimacy, coming home to someone your married to, you don't have that in a situation like this. It forces you to grow together psychologically and emotionally. You have to find other means of connecting, bringing together."

In Tennessee, inmates must get permission from the warden before getting married. There are 2 counseling sessions with both the bride and groom.

A spokesperson says Dotson's wedding would take place in the visiting area, with "appropriate restraints for his security level."

At the ceremony there is no cake, no cameras and just 4 pre-approved visitors. The wedding is non-contact, meaning no kiss. Death row inmates are never allowed conjugal visits.
Dotson says that she is the love of his life.

Dotson's fiancé wouldn't tell us what she does for a living but says she's not working now because she had surgery. She says she's been married once before.

Dotson has not been married, but says he gets a 4 to 6 letters a week, mostly from women, some even propose to him in their letters.

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/crime/jessie-dotson-to-wed-in-prison-rpt-20110524

[Granny B]

Jessie Dotson's Attorney Speaks Out

Updated: Tuesday, 24 May 2011, 9:41 PM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 24 May 2011, 9:41 PM CDT

Memphis, Tn - Gerald Skahan represented Jessie Dotson in his murder trial. Fox 13’s Ernie Freeman talked with Skahan about a variety of issues surrounding the case, including what Dotson’s chances are for appeal and his planned marriage inside jail.

Jessie Dotson's Attorney Speaks Out: MyFoxMEMPHIS.com

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/10pm/jessie-dotson%27s-attorney-speaks-out-rpt-20110524

[ScoopD (aka: Pam)]

She said  "He did that to those little babies, you think he cares about me, NO!!!"  She said she would get in her car and drive as far away as it would take her if he was ever released. That only a monster could have done what he did.   

Brave Mother and my heart breaks for her!!!!!!

[k"KKK"hirschkorn]

Just  off  this  scumm  the  sooner  the  better. you  know  is as bad as bad can be  when there mom dont  want  to be  near  them. A MOM's's  love  is  for  ever.

[Rick4404]

I also understood that Tennessee would revert back to electrocution if lethal injection were ever declared to be unconstitutional by among other courts, the Tennessee Supreme Court or the United States Supreme Court. You are right that Daryl Holton had to specifically sign a piece of paper prior to his execution and choose the chair over lethal injection.

In theory, they COULD. But as Cynthia pointed out, they barely have the stones to carry out an execution even under the most ideal circumstances - let alone when it would be highly controversial or contested. 

I looked up Tennessee's statute relative to the means of execution to be used:

Title 40  Criminal Procedure 
Chapter 23  Execution of Judgment

Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-23-114  (2011)

40-23-114.  Death by lethal injection -- Election of electrocution.

  (a) For any person who commits an offense for which the person is sentenced to the punishment of death, the method for carrying out this sentence shall be by lethal injection.

(b) Any person who commits an offense prior to January 1, 1999, for which the person is sentenced to the punishment of death may elect to be executed by electrocution by signing a written waiver waiving the right to be executed by lethal injection.

(c) The department of correction is authorized to promulgate necessary rules and regulations to facilitate the implementation of this section.

(d) If lethal injection or electrocution is held to be unconstitutional by the Tennessee supreme court under the Constitution of Tennessee, or held to be unconstitutional by the United States supreme court under the United States Constitution, or if the United States supreme court declines to review any judgment holding lethal injection or electrocution to be unconstitutional under the United States Constitution made by the Tennessee supreme court or the United States court of appeals that has jurisdiction over Tennessee, or if the Tennessee supreme court declines to review any judgment by the Tennessee court of criminal appeals holding lethal injection or electrocution to be unconstitutional under the United States or Tennessee constitutions, all persons sentenced to death for a capital crime shall be executed by any constitutional method of execution. No sentence of death shall be reduced as a result of a determination that a method of execution is declared unconstitutional under the Constitution of Tennessee or the Constitution of the United States. In any case in which an execution method is declared unconstitutional, the death sentence shall remain in force until the sentence can be lawfully executed by any valid method of execution.

HISTORY: Acts 1913 (1st E.S.), ch. 36, § 1; Shan., §§ 7204, 7204a1; mod. Code 1932, § 11790; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 40-3117; Acts 1998, ch. 982, §§ 1-5; 2000, ch. 614, §§ 1-5.

Though I'm not an attorney nor a legal expert, this language does seem to me that if both electrocution and lethal injection were held to be unconstitutional at the same time, then it certainly appears to be the intent of the Legislature, that any constitutionally valid method of execution may be used. Whether specified in this section of Tennessee's laws or not. I assume that means the warden could technically put together a firing squad, build a gallows to hang the inmate or whatever. I know this is stretching...but interesting nevertheless.

[Angelstorm]

Where are we at with TN's executions now?  A friend's friend was murdered there yesterday. Was out jogging with her sister, felt unwell & arranged to meet her sister back at the cars - kidnapped, robbed and murdered en route - at 6am!!  She was possibly pregnant as well  They have charged the guy they think did it - but am I right in thinking there's not too great a chance he'll see a needle??

http://lakercountry.com/2012/06/14/jametown-man-charged-with-murdering-sarah-roberts-hart/

[turboprinz]

Man gets life sentence for decades-old murder

Posted: Friday, November 16, 2012 1:15 pm | Updated: 2:02 pm, Fri Nov 16, 2012.



A new sentencing Friday for man convicted of two Sullivan County murders decades ago has replaced his death penalty with a life sentence.

Leonard Edward Smith landed on death row for shooting to death store clerk Novella Webb on May 21, 1984.

He also earned a life sentence for a role in the shooting death of clerk John “Shorty” Pierce at another store that same day.

But a series of court appeals overturned his death sentence several times.

On Friday, he pleaded guilty to Webb’s murder in return for a life sentence. That means he will serve two life sentences, Sullivan County District Attorney

http://www.tricities.com/news/local/article_892b1c58-3018-11e2-b963-001a4bcf6878.html

[turboprinz]

Supreme Court Weighs In On 1997 Serial Killer Case
Posted: Jan 24, 2013 10:19 PM Updated: Jan 24, 2013 11:38 PM

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that convicted serial killer Paul Dennis Reid cannot continue his appeals.

Paul Reid received 7 death sentences after juries in both Nashville and Clarksville convicted him of premeditated first degree murder and especially aggravated robbery. In 1997 Reid committed three fast-food armed robberies in Nashville and Clarksville, at a Captain D's, a Baskin-Robbins, and a McDonald's, killing seven people who worked at those restaurants.

Just before his first scheduled execution date in 2003, Paul Reid filed suit to get new trials. Later he changed his mind and said he no longer wanted a new trial. Despite his decision officials said that his appointed attorneys and his sister have been filing petitions on his behalf saying he lacks the mental competency to seek new trials.

The issue went to the Tennessee Supreme Court, who on Thursday, agreed with the decisions of the trial courts and the Court of Criminal Appeals. Reid ‘s advocates "may not continue appealing his convictions in state court against his wishes, despite claims he is not competent to abandon his appeals,"

Even though there is evidence of brain damage and mental health issues the State Supreme Court said Reid's sister and attorneys failed to present clear and convincing evidence that Reid has been unable to make his own legal decisions.

To read the opinion in Paul Dennis Reid v. State of Tennessee, authored by Justice William C. Koch, Jr., visit the Opinions section of TNCourts.gov.

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/20676353/supreme-court-weighs-in-on-1997-serial-killer-case