Criminal Law Keyed to Dressler
Payne v. Tennessee
Facts
After spending a morning and early afternoon drinking beer and injecting cocaine, the Petitioner, at approximately 3:00 p.m., entered the apartment of 28-year-old Charisse Christopher (Ms. Christoper) and her two children, Lacie, age two and Nicholas, age three. The Petitioner made sexual advances toward Ms. Christopher. She resisted, which lead the Petitioner to kill both Ms. Christopher and Lacie. Nicholas was found with several severe stab wounds, but he managed to survive. The Petitioner was convicted by a jury of two counts of murder. At sentencing, the Petitioner presented the testimony of his mother and father, Bobbie Thomas and a clinical psychologist. The testimony largely was that the Petitioner was of good character, attended church and he was of low intelligence and mentally handicapped. The State presented the testimony of Ms. Christopher’s mother, who spoke of the negative impact of the murders on Nicholas. Furthermore, the prosecutor presented argument regarding Nicholas’ experience. The jury sentenced the Petitioner to death on each count of murder.
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