Death Penalty – Generally

 Unless otherwise indicated, all indented material is copied directly from the court’s opinion.

Decisions of the Tennessee Supreme Court

State v. Jones, No. W2015-02210-SC-DDT-DD, 568 S.W.3d 101, 137-38 (Tenn. 2019).

This Court is statutorily required to review the Defendant’s death sentences. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-206(a)(1) (2014). Our review includes analyzing whether (1) either death sentence was imposed in any arbitrary fashion; (2) the evidence supports the jury’s findings of statutory aggravating circumstances; (3) the evidence supports the jury’s finding that the aggravating circumstances outweighed any mitigating circumstances; and (4) the capital sentence is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases, considering both the nature of the crime and the Defendant. Id. § 39-13-206(c)(1)(A)–(D).

Decisions of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals