TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Court to Hear November Arguments in Jackson

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Nov 4, 2024

The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear arguments Nov. 6 in Jackson in the case of State of Tennessee v. Pervis Tyrone Payne. The court will look at whether the trial court had jurisdiction to reconsider the consecutive alignment of sentences after a determination of intellectual disability. Payne was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault with intent to commit murder. He was sentenced to death for the murder charges and to 30 years in the assault case, to be run consecutively. In 2021, the General Assembly provided a process by which death row inmates may challenge the death penalty due to an intellectual disability. Payne filed under the new law and after evaluation was determined to meet the definition of intellectual disability. Payne’s attorneys and the state agreed that he should receive two life sentences but disagreed whether the sentences should be served consecutively or concurrently. The trial court found that the sentences should run concurrently. The appeals court affirmed. The state is appealing that decision. Arguments will begin at 1 p.m. CST and be livestreamed to the TNCourts YouTube page.

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