TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Pervis Payne Case

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Nov 7, 2024

The Tennessee Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday on whether Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan had the authority to vacate Pervis Payne’s death sentence in 2022 and replace it with two life sentences to be served concurrently. Payne was convicted in 1988 for the stabbing deaths of Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter. He has been in jail for 37 years and has maintained his innocence since being convicted. Payne appealed his case under a new state law that allows defendants to challenge death sentences if they are deemed to have an intellectual disability. The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office argued that Skahan had the authority to reduce Payne’s death sentence to life but not to change the structure of the sentences from consecutive to concurrent. Payne’s attorney argued the court had authority to do both since state law gives it “original and subject matter jurisdiction over all criminal matters that come before” it. Daily Memphian looks at the arguments.

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