News
January 4, 1999
The Tennessee Supreme Court has denied an appeal by death row inmate Olen Eddie Hutchison, convicted of conspiring to murder his victim to collect $800,000 in life insurance and other benefits.A Campbell County jury convicted Hutchison in 1991 of first degree murder, conspiracy to take a life and…
January 11, 1999
Charles Ferrell, director of Tennessee’s Administrative Office of the Courts, announced Monday he will resign effective April 30.“There never is an ideal time to make such a decision, but after much thought and discussion with my family and friends, I have concluded that I want to leave government…
January 25, 1999
A death row inmate who killed his wife and her two teenage sons has no constitutional grounds on which to appeal his convictions and three death sentences, the Tennessee Supreme Court said Monday in an order setting a May 17 execution date.Oscar Franklin Smith claimed in a petition filed with the…
January 1, 1999
A retired Tennessee State University English professor has become the first non-lawyer vice chair of the state Board of Professional Responsibility which investigates complaints against attorneys and disciplines those who violate professional codes of conduct.McDonald Williams of Nashville is the…
February 10, 1999
Elizabeth (Libby) Sykes, former director of the Tennessee Sentencing Commission, has been named by the state Supreme Court to serve as interim director of the Administrative Office of the Courts. Sykes, of Clarksville, also will continue her duties as the AOC’s director of statistical services,…
March 9, 1999
More than 800 students from 17 public and private high schools in Benton, Carroll, Decatur, Hardin and Henry counties will participate April 14-15 in a program developed by the state Supreme Court to educate young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.The students and their teachers…
March 15, 1999
The Tennessee Supreme Court has denied the third and final post-conviction appeal by Robert Glen Coe, sentenced to death for the 1979 kidnaping, rape and murder of 8-year-old Cary Ann Medlin of Greenfield. The court also set a June 15 execution date for Coe, whose only remaining federal appeal is…
May 11, 1999
In an order filed Monday, the Tennessee Supreme Court rejected a petition to appeal filed by death row inmate Michael Angelo Coleman whose victim was shot to death during a 1979 Memphis robbery.Coleman, 42, was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of 69-year-old Leon Watson. The victim…
May 10, 1999
Circuit Court Judge Cornelia Clark of Franklin was selected Tuesday by the Tennessee Supreme Court as the state’s new administrative director of the courts. Clark was chosen from among 62 applicants for the position.“We had an exceptional pool of applicants and the three finalists were outstanding…
May 17, 1999
The death sentence a Sullivan County jury imposed for a 1984 murder committed during a country store robbery is constitutionally valid, the Tennessee Supreme Court held Monday, rejecting an appeal by inmate Leonard Edward Smith and affirming the penalty.“We have considered the defendant’s…
May 18, 1999
A death row inmate represented at trial by an attorney who abused drugs and alcohol and another lawyer with no capital case experience has been granted a new sentencing hearing based on his claim of “ineffective assistance of counsel.” The Tennessee Supreme Court allowed state prosecutors and…
June 21, 1999
Arguments before the Tennessee Supreme Court in Promise Doe v. Don Sundquist, a case involving Tennessee’s adoption records law, will be aired at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 23, on Metro Government Channel 3 on InterMedia in Davidson County.“The court welcomes the public scrutiny and hopes that many…
June 21, 1999
The Tennessee Supreme Court has unanimously rejected an appeal by death row inmate Donald Wayne Strouth, sentenced to death for murdering a Kingsport merchant by hitting him in the head and slitting his throat during a robbery at the victim’s used clothing store.Strouth and Jeffrey Stuart Dicks,…
July 6, 1999
In a decision released Monday, a unanimous Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of Donald Ray Middlebrooks, who was sentenced to death for torturing and murdering a 14 year-old Nashville boy in 1987. The court rejected alleged numerous constitutional violations raised by the defendant…
July 12, 1999
An appeal by Gary June Caughron, convicted of the 1987 murder of a Sevier County woman, was denied Monday by the Tennessee Supreme Court.Caughron alleged in a post-conviction petition that his attorney was ineffective during the guilt and sentencing phases of his trial; that the court erred in…
January 1, 1999
Judges, lawyers, legal scholars, the media and others needing information about more than 500 first-degree murder cases in Tennessee can have the data at their fingertips with a new high-tech tool initiated by the state Supreme Court.A Microsoft™ Windows 95 compatible CD-ROM, produced by the…
September 7, 1999
Violations of state laws spelling out how jury pools must be selected and requiring that jurors in death penalty trials be sequestered have resulted in the Tennessee Supreme Court ordering a new trial for Pat Bondurant, sentenced to death for the 1986 Maury County murder of William Ronnie Gaines.…
September 20, 1999
The Tennessee Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments in a post-conviction appeal filed by death row inmate Heck Van Tran who claims his execution would be unconstitutional because he is incompetent. Tran was convicted of three murders committed during the 1987 robbery of a Memphis restaurant.In…
October 8, 1999
More than 750 students from 22 public and private high schools in Shelby County will participate Nov. 17-18 in a program developed by the state Supreme Court to educate young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.The students and their teachers will attend special Supreme Court…
October 11, 1999
The Tennessee Supreme Court has denied an appeal by death row inmate Timothy Morris, whose victim was bludgeoned to death in 1981 during a business trip through the state. Morris, a drifter, was convicted of the murder in Greene County and sentenced to death.In an order filed Monday, the court…