When Pervis Payne walked into a Memphis courtroom on Tuesday morning, he hugged his attorney and sobbed.
Memphis DA agrees to drop man’s death sentence, following new law barring executions of people with intellectual disabilities
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.
Pervis Payne, Tennessee Man Seeking To Have Death Sentence Overturned, Makes First Court Appearance In More Than A Decade
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.
Activists Gear Up As Court Weighs Whether Pervis Payne Should Be Spared From Execution
A man who’s been on Tennessee’s death row for more than 30 years has recently seen a flurry of activity in his case. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference has joined the campaign to release Pervis Payne, and he faces a key hearing on a claim that could save him from execution.
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.
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