No Appeals for Paul Reid Without His Consent

Paul Dennis Reid. Credit Tennessee Department of Corrections

Advocates for a convicted serial killer will not be allowed to file appeals on his behalf.

Paul Dennis Reid killed seven people in three armed robberies in 1997, and received death sentences in all seven cases. He was scheduled for execution in 2003, but managed to put that off by asking for new trials on three of his convictions.

Reid later changed his mind, saying he didn’t want to fight them anymore. But his attorneys and sister have argued Reid wasn’t mentally competent to make that decision.

In a unanimous decision, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that Reid has not been proven incompetent of making his own legal choices, so nobody else has the right to file appeals without his agreement.