Post by sclcookie on Jun 4, 2006 1:04:51 GMT -5
On-and-off death row inmate to be executed -- Years of appeals gave man
chance at life in 1989 murder-for-hire case
The state Supreme Court, which has twice taken a thingye County man off
death row, on Friday set his execution date.
In a stunning reversal of judicial fortunes, Jonathan Wesley Stephenson
faces an October execution for the 1989 ambush slaying of his wife after
years of appeals that had netted him a chance at avoiding death.
In an opinion released Friday, the state's highest court opined that
Stephenson deserved to die for luring his wife away from their 8-month-old
baby and 4-year-old son after offering to pay for her death with cash, a
boat, a truck and a motor.
Lisa Stephenson was shot in the head at close range with a high-powered
rifle in a remote section of thingye County in December 1989. It was a
murder-for-hire case, although the hired hit man, Ralph Thompson, insisted
that Jonathan Stephenson was the one who wound up pulling the trigger.
Stephenson countered that it was Thompson who fired the fatal shot. Under
the law, it didn't matter which of the 2 men actually killed the thingye
County mother. Both were prosecuted with separate jury trials. A thingye
County jury sentenced Stephenson to death. A Sevier County jury imposed a
sentence of life for Thompson, whose trial was moved because of publicity
surrounding Stephenson's trial.
Stephenson, testimony has shown, wanted his wife dead because his stripper
girlfriend did not know he was married. He also feared losing "everything
he'd ever worked for" in a divorce, according to trial testimony.
In 1994, the state Supreme Court vacated Jonathan Stephenson's death
sentence because of a procedural error and sent the case back to thingye
County for a new sentencing hearing.
District Attorney General Al Schmutzer then offered Stephenson a deal to
spare Lisa Stephenson's family further court grief. Under the deal,
Stephenson would be sentenced to life without parole for murdering his
wife and another 60 years for plotting with Thompson to kill her.
Stephenson took the deal but then appealed. The state Supreme Court again
sided with Stephenson, ruling that the law allowing a sentence of life
without parole wasn't on the books when the slaying occurred. The court
again took Stephenson off death row.
This time, Schmutzer offered no deal and a jury again sentenced Stephenson
to death.
Stephenson appealed again, arguing, among other things, that it was unfair
for him to be put to death when Thompson was allowed to live for the same
crime.
In an opinion written by Justice Janice M. Holder and released Friday, the
state's high court disagreed.
"In the present case, the defendant's relationship to the victim and his
role as leader in instigating and planning the murder distinguishes him
from Thompson," Holder wrote. "Moreover, this court has upheld death
sentences in murder-for-hire cases where the actual killer received a
sentence of life imprisonment."
Retiring Justice Adolpho A. Birch Jr. issued a lone dissent, calling the
majority to task for one of its legal conclusions and the panel's overall
standard of reviewing death sentences for fairness.
Although an execution date has been set for Stephenson, it is unlikely
that it will be carried out. He is entitled under the law to another round
of federal appeals.
(source : Knoxville News Sentinel)
chance at life in 1989 murder-for-hire case
The state Supreme Court, which has twice taken a thingye County man off
death row, on Friday set his execution date.
In a stunning reversal of judicial fortunes, Jonathan Wesley Stephenson
faces an October execution for the 1989 ambush slaying of his wife after
years of appeals that had netted him a chance at avoiding death.
In an opinion released Friday, the state's highest court opined that
Stephenson deserved to die for luring his wife away from their 8-month-old
baby and 4-year-old son after offering to pay for her death with cash, a
boat, a truck and a motor.
Lisa Stephenson was shot in the head at close range with a high-powered
rifle in a remote section of thingye County in December 1989. It was a
murder-for-hire case, although the hired hit man, Ralph Thompson, insisted
that Jonathan Stephenson was the one who wound up pulling the trigger.
Stephenson countered that it was Thompson who fired the fatal shot. Under
the law, it didn't matter which of the 2 men actually killed the thingye
County mother. Both were prosecuted with separate jury trials. A thingye
County jury sentenced Stephenson to death. A Sevier County jury imposed a
sentence of life for Thompson, whose trial was moved because of publicity
surrounding Stephenson's trial.
Stephenson, testimony has shown, wanted his wife dead because his stripper
girlfriend did not know he was married. He also feared losing "everything
he'd ever worked for" in a divorce, according to trial testimony.
In 1994, the state Supreme Court vacated Jonathan Stephenson's death
sentence because of a procedural error and sent the case back to thingye
County for a new sentencing hearing.
District Attorney General Al Schmutzer then offered Stephenson a deal to
spare Lisa Stephenson's family further court grief. Under the deal,
Stephenson would be sentenced to life without parole for murdering his
wife and another 60 years for plotting with Thompson to kill her.
Stephenson took the deal but then appealed. The state Supreme Court again
sided with Stephenson, ruling that the law allowing a sentence of life
without parole wasn't on the books when the slaying occurred. The court
again took Stephenson off death row.
This time, Schmutzer offered no deal and a jury again sentenced Stephenson
to death.
Stephenson appealed again, arguing, among other things, that it was unfair
for him to be put to death when Thompson was allowed to live for the same
crime.
In an opinion written by Justice Janice M. Holder and released Friday, the
state's high court disagreed.
"In the present case, the defendant's relationship to the victim and his
role as leader in instigating and planning the murder distinguishes him
from Thompson," Holder wrote. "Moreover, this court has upheld death
sentences in murder-for-hire cases where the actual killer received a
sentence of life imprisonment."
Retiring Justice Adolpho A. Birch Jr. issued a lone dissent, calling the
majority to task for one of its legal conclusions and the panel's overall
standard of reviewing death sentences for fairness.
Although an execution date has been set for Stephenson, it is unlikely
that it will be carried out. He is entitled under the law to another round
of federal appeals.
(source : Knoxville News Sentinel)