Pervis Payne has spent most of his life on death row for murders he says he didn’t commit. Now, his attorneys and the state are sparring over what evidence should be used to determine he has an intellectual disability, as many believe, and should be spared the death penalty.
New Tennessee Law Allows Man With Intellectual Disability To Challenge Death Sentence
A man on Tennessee’s death row with a diagnosed intellectual disability is asking the court not to send him to the death chamber.
Tennessee Legislature Clears The Way For People With Intellectual Disabilities To Appeal Their Death Sentences
A bill that would allow individuals on death row with intellectual disabilities to challenge their death sentences has passed through both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly with near-unanimous support.
Tennesse House Considers Bill To Prevent The Execution Of People With Intellectual Disabilities
Tennessee lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow intellectually disabled people on death row to challenge their sentence.
Tennessee Judge Rules New DNA Results Don’t Prove Innocence In Death Row Case
A Memphis judge has ruled that new DNA testing results do not prove the innocence of a Tennessee man on death row. Pervis Payne’s DNA was located on multiple items in the apartment of a woman who he allegedly stabbed to death in 1987.
Testing Finds Another Man’s DNA On Evidence That Landed Pervis Payne On Death Row
New DNA testing results could stop the execution of a Tennessee man scheduled to die this spring.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee Postpones December Execution Due To COVID-19 Pandemic
The state of Tennessee will not execute Pervis Payne next month, as planned.
Proposed Bill Would Prevent Executions Of The Intellectually Disabled In Tennessee, But Not Before The Next Scheduled Death
Pervis Payne is set to be executed on Dec. 3, weeks before Tennessee’s next legislative session begins. His attorneys hope Gov. Bill Lee will postpone his execution while the bill makes it way through the legislative process.
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.
West Tennessee Judge Grants DNA Testing Ahead Of December Execution
A Shelby County man who has spent more than three decades on death row for a crime he’s always said he did not commit has been granted one more chance to try to prove his innocence.
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