State v. William R. Stevens

Tennessee Supreme Court

State v. William R. Stevens

DecidedMay 14, 2002

DocketM1999-02067-SC-DDT-DD

StatusPublished

This text of State v. William R. Stevens (State v. William R. Stevens) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

State v. William R. Stevens, (Tenn. 2002).

Pincite

Opinion

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE February 5, 2002 Session

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. WILLIAM R. STEVENS

Appeal from the Court of Criminal Appeals Criminal Court for Davidson County No. 98-A-825 Steve Dozier, Judge

No. M1999-02067-SC-DDT-DD - Filed May 14, 2002

ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, JR., J., concurring and dissenting.

I concur with the majority’s decision to affirm the defendant’s convictions. With regard to the imposition of the death penalty in this case, however, I cannot agree. Repeatedly, I have expressed grave concerns about the comparative proportionality review protocol employed by the majority to impose the death penalty. See, e.g., State v. Chalmers, 28 S.W.3d 913 (Tenn. 2000)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. Keen, 31 S.W.3d 196 (Tenn. 2000)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. Carruthers and Montgomery, 35 S.W.3d 516 (Tenn. 2000)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. Sims, 45 S.W.3d 1 (Tenn. 2001)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); Terry v. State, 46 S.W.3d 147 (Tenn. 2001)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. Stout, 46 S.W.3d 689 (Tenn. 2001)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. Bane, 57 S.W.3d 411 (Tenn. 2001)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. Godsey, 60 S.W.3d 759 (Tenn. 2001)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. McKinney, ___ S.W.3d ___ (Tenn. 2002)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. Dellinger and Sutton, ___ S.W.3d ___ (Tenn. 2002)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); see also State v. Bland, 958 S.W.2d 651 (Tenn. 1997)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting). As detailed in my prior dissents, I do not believe the Court is properly fulfilling its statutory obligation to determine whether “the sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13- 206(c)(1)(D) (2001). Because I have not detected any meaningful effort to address and rectify my concerns, I respectfully dissent from the imposition of the penalty of death in this case.

___________________________________ ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, JR., JUSTICE

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE February 5, 2002 Session

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. WILLIAM R. STEVENS

Appeal from the Court of Criminal Appeals Criminal Court for Davidson County No. 98-A-825 Steve Dozier, Judge

No. M1999-02067-SC-DDT-DD - Filed May 14, 2002

ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, JR., J., concurring and dissenting.

I concur with the majority’s decision to affirm the defendant’s convictions. With regard to the imposition of the death penalty in this case, however, I cannot agree. Repeatedly, I have expressed grave concerns about the comparative proportionality review protocol employed by the majority to impose the death penalty. See, e.g., State v. Chalmers, 28 S.W.3d 913 (Tenn. 2000)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. Keen, 31 S.W.3d 196 (Tenn. 2000)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. Carruthers and Montgomery, 35 S.W.3d 516 (Tenn. 2000)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. Sims, 45 S.W.3d 1 (Tenn. 2001)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); Terry v. State, 46 S.W.3d 147 (Tenn. 2001)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. Stout, 46 S.W.3d 689 (Tenn. 2001)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. Bane, 57 S.W.3d 411 (Tenn. 2001)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. Godsey, 60 S.W.3d 759 (Tenn. 2001)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. McKinney, ___ S.W.3d ___ (Tenn. 2002)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); State v. Dellinger and Sutton, ___ S.W.3d ___ (Tenn. 2002)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting); see also State v. Bland, 958 S.W.2d 651 (Tenn. 1997)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting). As detailed in my prior dissents, I do not believe the Court is properly fulfilling its statutory obligation to determine whether “the sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13- 206(c)(1)(D) (2001). Because I have not detected any meaningful effort to address and rectify my concerns, I respectfully dissent from the imposition of the penalty of death in this case.

___________________________________ ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, JR., JUSTICE

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

State v. William R. Stevens, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-william-r-stevens-tenn-2002.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack