STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ASHLEY LEDFORD AND BRANDON STEPP - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ASHLEY LEDFORD AND BRANDON STEPP

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jan 16, 2025

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Jordan Long, Tazewell, Tennessee (on appeal), and Brian Sableman, Oneida, Tennessee (at trial), for the appellant, Ashley Ledford.

Attorneys 2: Andrew Crawford, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Brandon Stepp.

Attorneys 3: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Richard D. Douglas, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Jared Effler, District Attorney General; and Andrea Bridges, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): AYERS

Defendants, Ashley Ledford and Brandon Stepp, were convicted by a Campbell County jury of two counts of aggravated child abuse and neglect of a child under the age of eight resulting in serious bodily injury. The trial court imposed effective twenty-one-year sentences for each Defendant. On appeal, Defendants argue that the evidence was insufficient to support their convictions, that the trial court erred by admitting the victim’s out-of-court statements and by consolidating Defendants’ cases, and that the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing Defendants. Defendants also assert that they are entitled to relief under the cumulative error doctrine. Upon our review of the entire record, the briefs of the parties, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

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