Pervis Payne was sentenced to death in 1988 for killing a woman and her daughter. Since his conviction, courts have ruled that people with intellectual disabilities should not be executed.
A Nashville man will be removed from death row after years of legal back and forth
A criminal court judge has decided for a second time that Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman should spend the rest of his life behind bars but won’t face execution.
New Documentary Looks At Flaws In A High-Profile Nashville Death Penalty Case
A film that debuted last week at the Nashville Film Festival takes a deeper look at the conviction of Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman, whom Nashville’s district attorney has asked to be spared from a death sentence.
Racial Bias Taints Death Penalty Cases In Tennessee, National Report Finds
A new national report on racial disparities in the death penalty explores two high-profile cases that are winding their way through the courts here in Tennessee. It highlights the ways Black people are more likely to be discriminated against — from arrest to jury selection to execution.
Tennessee Supreme Court Commits To Racial Equity Amid Protests Against Racial Disparities In Law Enforcement
A new initiative follows the recent groundswell of protests against systemic racism in policing, but accusations of racial bias are not new in Tennessee’s court system.
Tennessee Death Penalty Case Raises Questions About Who Has The Power To Stop An Execution
An agreement that spared the life of a man on death row could transform the future of death penalty cases in Tennessee. Judges raised concerns about the settlement during a Court of Criminal Appeals hearing Tuesday morning.
State Attorney General Aims To Reverse Deal That Spared A Nashville Man From The Death Penalty
Listen Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery is challenging a recent ruling that overturned a death row inmate’s sentence just months before his execution. Slatery thinks Nashville’s district attorney overstepped when he offered the deal last month. His appeal calls into question who has the final say in criminal cases.
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