In a critical judicial review set for tomorrow, the Tennessee Supreme Court will hear a case that could impact the state's approach to re-sentencing individuals on death row found to have an intellectual disability. According to a press release from the Tennessee Courts, the case of Pervis Tyrone Payne, who in 1988 was sentenced to death for two counts of first-degree murder and received an additional thirty-year sentence for assault, will be reviewed at the Tennessee Supreme Court in Jackson at 1 p.m. CDT and will be available via live stream on the TNCourts YouTube channel.
Payne's case took a significant turn following a 2021 amendment to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-203(g), which allows death row inmates a chance to prove intellectual disability and thereby become ineligible for the death penalty. The State conceded Payne's intellectual disability after its expert evaluation, which means he faces two life sentences instead of the death penalty. However, what remains in contention is whether those life sentences should run consecutively or concurrently.
The disagreement between the parties has led to a legal debate over jurisdiction and the authority of the trial court to re-evaluate the alignment of a defendant's sentences post-intellectual disability determination. Following the State's objections to concurrent sentencing at a new hearing, the trial court nevertheless ruled that Payne was no longer a dangerous offender, a decision affirmed by the Court of Criminal Appeals. The next stage of legal argument will take place before the Tennessee Supreme Court following the appeal by the state, which seeks to clarify the extent of trial court jurisdiction in such matters.
