There are 12 article(s) tagged death penalty:

• May 2025

  • Tennessee man is executed for killing his wife and her two sons

    Tennessee has executed Oscar Smith for the 1989 murder of his estranged wife Judith Smith and her sons Jason and Chad Burnett.

    By The Associated Press May 22, 2025

• May 2024

  • Gov. Lee OKs bill allowing death penalty for child-rape convictions

    The new Tennessee law, which goes into effect July 1, authorizes the state to pursue capital punishment when an adult is convicted of aggravated rape of a child.

    By The Associated Press May 15, 2024

• December 2022

  • State prison officials failed to follow lethal injection protocol, report finds

    Gov. Bill Lee granted Oscar Smith a reprieve after finding TDOC failed to properly test lethal injection chemicals, then retained a former federal prosecutor to investigate why it happened.

    By Ian Round December 30, 2022

• January 2022

  • Pervis Payne could be eligible for parole in five years

    Former death row inmate Pervis Payne may be eligible for parole in five years after a judge ruled on his sentencing. 

    By Yolanda Jones January 31, 2022

• December 2021

  • Skahan weighs new sentence in Pervis Payne case

    Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan took under advisement Tuesday, Dec. 14, two days of testimony in a hearing that will determine whether Pervis Payne serves two life sentences concurrently or consecutively for the 1987 murders of Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter, Lacie, in Millington

    By Bill Dries December 14, 2021

  • Resentencing for 1987 killings hinges on conflicting views of Pervis Payne

    The inmate’s 1988 death sentence was set aside because of questions about his mental competency. The resentencing hearing continues Tuesday, Dec. 14.

    By Bill Dries December 14, 2021

• April 2021

  • Pervis Payne gains new supporters as reprieve set to expire

    Pervis Payne, a Shelby County man on death row for 33 years, has gained new supporters as a reprieve is set to expire and the state Supreme Court may set a new execution date. 

    By Yolanda Jones April 07, 2021

• November 2020

  • Governor grants Pervis Payne temporary reprieve

    Gov. Bill Lee temporarily halts Dec. 3 execution of death row inmate Pervis Payne because of COVID-19 concerns. 

    By Yolanda Jones November 06, 2020

  • Black Caucus files bill to protect intellectually disabled from death penalty

    The Tennessee Black Caucus has filed a bill seeking to protect the intellectually disabled from the death penalty. The legislation stems from the case of death row inmate Pervis Payne of Shelby County. 

    By Yolanda Jones November 05, 2020

• December 2019

  • Death penalty protesters to hold prayer vigil in Memphis

    Opponents of the death penalty are holding prayer vigils in Memphis and other cities in the state to protest the execution planned Thursday of Lee Hall, convicted for the 1991 death of his estranged girlfriend. 

    By Yolanda Jones December 04, 2019

• June 2019

  • Family of executed man seeks to have DNA in case tested

    The daughter of Sedley Alley, the man convicted in the 1985 brutal murder and rape of Marine Lance Cpl. Suzanne Marie Collins in Millington, is seeking to have the DNA evidence in the case tested, some 13 years after her father was executed for the slaying. 

    By Yolanda Jones June 03, 2019

• March 2019

  • Death penalty opponents call for alternatives, reform

    Tennessee officials have defended capital punishment, saying it brings justice to victims' families. But at a recent discussion at LeMoyne-Owen College, panelists with personal stories about death row said the system is broken.

    By Yolanda Jones March 22, 2019