Post by sclcookie on Jun 4, 2006 1:05:17 GMT -5
Supreme Court Affirms Death Sentence For Inmate Who Appealed Life Sentence
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed the death sentence thingye County
jurors imposed on a truck driver for his role in the contract killing of
his wife who was shot at close range after being lured to a remote area.
Jonathan Wesley Stephenson was first sentenced to death in 1990 for the
1st degree murder of Lisa Stephenson. He also received a 25 year sentence
for conspiracy to commit murder. A new sentencing hearing was ordered due
to a legal error nullifying the jurors' verdict. By agreement with the
prosecution and defense, the death sentence was later changed to life
without parole for the murder and 60 years in prison for conspiracy.
Stephenson then challenged the reduced sentence and the Tennessee Supreme
Court ordered a new sentencing hearing. Jurors again imposed a death
sentence which was upheld by the Supreme Court.
"Having carefully reviewed the record and relevant legal authority, we
conclude that none of the errors alleged by the defendant warrants
relief," Justice Janice M. Holder wrote for the majority. Chief Justice
William M. Barker and Justices E. Riley Anderson and Cornelia Clark
concurred in the decision filed Friday.
In a separate concurring and dissenting opinion, Justice Adolpho A. Birch,
Jr., said he agrees with the majority that Stephenson's convictions should
be affirmed, but disagreed concerning the majoritys conclusion regarding
an issue raised by Stephenson in his appeal.
"I respectfully dissent from that portion of the majority's opinion
concluding that the Sixth Amendment right to confrontation of witnesses
and the state constitutional right to confront witnesses 'face-to-face'
does not apply to capital sentencing hearings," Justice Birch wrote.
As in previous dissents, Justice Birch also wrote that the method used by
the court to review and compare Tennessee capital cases is "inadequate" in
his view. State law requires the court to conduct comparative
proportionality review in each death penalty case to determine whether the
sentence is disproportionate to the penalties in similar cases.
Justice Holder said the court recognizes that no two cases involve
identical circumstances. Quoting an earlier case, State v. Bland, she
wrote that the court's objective is not to "'prove that a defendant's
death sentence is perfectly symmetrical, but to identify and to invalidate
the aberrant death sentence."
"We conclude that the sentence of death has not been imposed arbitrarily,
that the evidence supports the jury's finding of the statutory aggravating
circumstance, that the evidence supports the jury's finding that the
aggravating circumstance outweighs the mitigating circumstances beyond a
reasonable doubt and that the sentence is not excessive or
disproportionate," Justice Holder wrote.
The court set an Oct. 11, 2006, execution date for Stephenson, who has
appeals remaining.
Stephenson and a co-defendant, Ralph Thompson, Jr., were found guilty of
killing Lisa Stephenson, the mother of two young children, with a rifle as
she sat in her vehicle in an isolated area in thingye County.
Thompson received a life sentence for the murder and an additional 25
years for conspiracy to commit murder. Each defendant blamed the other for
the actual shooting.
Stephenson had offered Thompson and others cash, a boat, a motor and a
truck if they would kill his wife. He complained that he would "lose
everything he had worked for" if they divorced.
The court considered and rejected all issues raised by Stephenson in his
appeal. The decision upholds a decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals,
which also found his claims to be without merit.
(source: Associated Press)
The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed the death sentence thingye County
jurors imposed on a truck driver for his role in the contract killing of
his wife who was shot at close range after being lured to a remote area.
Jonathan Wesley Stephenson was first sentenced to death in 1990 for the
1st degree murder of Lisa Stephenson. He also received a 25 year sentence
for conspiracy to commit murder. A new sentencing hearing was ordered due
to a legal error nullifying the jurors' verdict. By agreement with the
prosecution and defense, the death sentence was later changed to life
without parole for the murder and 60 years in prison for conspiracy.
Stephenson then challenged the reduced sentence and the Tennessee Supreme
Court ordered a new sentencing hearing. Jurors again imposed a death
sentence which was upheld by the Supreme Court.
"Having carefully reviewed the record and relevant legal authority, we
conclude that none of the errors alleged by the defendant warrants
relief," Justice Janice M. Holder wrote for the majority. Chief Justice
William M. Barker and Justices E. Riley Anderson and Cornelia Clark
concurred in the decision filed Friday.
In a separate concurring and dissenting opinion, Justice Adolpho A. Birch,
Jr., said he agrees with the majority that Stephenson's convictions should
be affirmed, but disagreed concerning the majoritys conclusion regarding
an issue raised by Stephenson in his appeal.
"I respectfully dissent from that portion of the majority's opinion
concluding that the Sixth Amendment right to confrontation of witnesses
and the state constitutional right to confront witnesses 'face-to-face'
does not apply to capital sentencing hearings," Justice Birch wrote.
As in previous dissents, Justice Birch also wrote that the method used by
the court to review and compare Tennessee capital cases is "inadequate" in
his view. State law requires the court to conduct comparative
proportionality review in each death penalty case to determine whether the
sentence is disproportionate to the penalties in similar cases.
Justice Holder said the court recognizes that no two cases involve
identical circumstances. Quoting an earlier case, State v. Bland, she
wrote that the court's objective is not to "'prove that a defendant's
death sentence is perfectly symmetrical, but to identify and to invalidate
the aberrant death sentence."
"We conclude that the sentence of death has not been imposed arbitrarily,
that the evidence supports the jury's finding of the statutory aggravating
circumstance, that the evidence supports the jury's finding that the
aggravating circumstance outweighs the mitigating circumstances beyond a
reasonable doubt and that the sentence is not excessive or
disproportionate," Justice Holder wrote.
The court set an Oct. 11, 2006, execution date for Stephenson, who has
appeals remaining.
Stephenson and a co-defendant, Ralph Thompson, Jr., were found guilty of
killing Lisa Stephenson, the mother of two young children, with a rifle as
she sat in her vehicle in an isolated area in thingye County.
Thompson received a life sentence for the murder and an additional 25
years for conspiracy to commit murder. Each defendant blamed the other for
the actual shooting.
Stephenson had offered Thompson and others cash, a boat, a motor and a
truck if they would kill his wife. He complained that he would "lose
everything he had worked for" if they divorced.
The court considered and rejected all issues raised by Stephenson in his
appeal. The decision upholds a decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals,
which also found his claims to be without merit.
(source: Associated Press)