Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 19, 2006 17:32:52 GMT -5
The facts on capital punishment in Tennessee
The following is a compilation of facts and statistics on capital
punishment in Tennessee, compiled by 10 News Investigative Producer, Jake
Jost.
Who is on death row?
There are 102 inmates remaining on death row after the recent execution of
Sedley Alley. 2 of them are women, and the rest are men. 58 of them are
white, 41 are black, 1 is Indian, another is Hispanic, and another is
Asian. Both women are white.
The average age of a death row inmate is about 45 (44.89), and the median
age is 44 1/2. That's one sign the age distribution is fairly consistent.
The inmate with the crime committed longest ago is Richard Austin. He's
also the oldest death row inmate, at 67. The crime for which he was
convicted occurred on May 23, 1977. He has a petition pending, so there's
currently no execution date set for him.
The most recent crime to send someone to death row was committed by James
Riels on April 21, 2003. He has made a direct appeal to the Supreme Court.
His status is listed as "awaiting filing of appellant's brief."
As mentioned previously, the oldest death row inmate is Richard Austin.
The youngest is 22-year-old Devin Banks. He'll turn 23 on August 2nd. He
was just 19 when he committed 1st degree murder.
Some people spend a great deal of time on death row. 27 inmates have spent
more than 20 years on death row, with 4 of them having spent more than 25
years on death row.
4 men (David Duncan, Donald Strouth, Michael Coleman, and Cecil Johnson)
have spent more than half of their lives on death row.
All of the current death row inmates have been found guilty of some form
of murder, although Tennessee has executed men for murder in the past.
How Did They Get There?
The first execution date for an inmate is set at sentencing by the trial
court. If they successfully appeal anything beyond the trial court, the
state Supreme Court then sets any subsequent execution dates. The
Tennessee Supreme Court will set the execution date regardless of where
the inmate made his or her appeal.
For Sedley Alley, that happened on the 2nd of June. The court opted for
June 28th, 2006, the same day as Paul Reid's schedule execution. His
previous date for execution was May 17th, but Governor Bredesen granted
him a reprieve to try to get DNA testing. A Memphis judge heard Alley's
petition for DNA testing and dismissed it, saying he wasn't entitled to
testing on the evidence gathered at the scene of the 1985 murder. They
then went to the Court of Criminal Appeals, which upheld the Memphis
judge's ruling on the 22nd of June. With an execution date set by the
Tennessee Supreme Court, the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of
Correction set an execution time of 1 AM central time. Alley's conviction
came for the murder of 19-year-old Suzanne Collins.
Paul Reid has been sentenced to the death penalty seven times. He was
convicted in 1999 for the 1997 slaying of 7 fast food workers. There is
currently a stay against Reid's execution while the court considers the
issue of whether Reid is mentally competent to discontinue his appeals.
Where Are They Now?
Inmates on death row spend the last few days of their sentence on
"Deathwatch." Under Deathwatch, inmates are allowed very limited items in
their cells and limited visitors. They're under 24-hour surveillance.
Inmates are served normal meals, although they can make a special request,
within reason, for their last meal.
Most of the state's death row inmates are housed at Riverbend Maximum
Security Institution. It's a facility for men only, so the 2 women are
located at the Tennessee Prison for Women located in Nashville. All death
row inmates at Riverbend are under maximum security, but they have
different privilege levels based on their behavior. Good behavior can earn
them more time with visitors and other privileges. They wake up at 5:30,
receive breakfast at 7, receive lunch at 11, receive dinner at 5, and
lights are out by 9. All meals are in their cells.
The women get similar treatment, but aren't in a separate housing unit at
the Tennessee Prison for Women because there's only 2 of them.
Some of the state's male death row inmates are at Brushy Mountain
Correctional Complex, where they're locked up 23 hours of the day. They
get transferred to Brushy Mountain for behavioral or security problems.
Where Do They Come From?
Forty-one were convicted in Shelby County, 12 in Davidson, 6 in Knox, 4 in
Hamilton, 3 in McMinn, 3 in Blount, and 3 in Sullivan. The rest of the
counties have sent 2 or fewer of the current death row inmates.
25 black men on death row were sent there by Shelby County, compared to 14
white men and 1 white woman sent by Shelby County.
Davidson County sent 6 of the black men and 6 of the white men to death
row.
Knox County has sent 4 of the white men, 1 white woman, and 1 black man
currently on death row. Hamilton County sent 3 of the white men and 1
black man currently on death row.
McMinn County has sent 3 of the white men currently on death row.
Blount County has sent 2 of the white men and 1 black man.
Sullivan County has sent 2 of the white men and the only Indian man on
death row.
How Will They Die?
Tennessee's default method of execution has been the lethal injection
since 1998. All death row inmates who committed their offenses on or after
January 1, 1999, will receive lethal injection as their means of
execution. Those who committed their offenses prior to January 1, 1999,
are allowed to choose the electric chair if they so prefer.
Lethal injection happens in a 3-step process:
1. Sodium Pentothol puts the inmate to sleep.
2.Pancuronium Bromide (Pavulon) stops breathing.
3.Potassium Chloride stops the heart's beat.
The injection process is viewed by witnesses through a window. However,
witnesses are screened from seeing the injection preparations and the
death certification.
There has been recent concern over the pain associated with potassium
chloride. On June 26th, a federal district judge halted all executions in
the state of Missouri over concerns that prisoners felt too much pain from
the administration of potassium chloride.
Missouri now has to take additional steps to ensure prisoners are
sufficiently anesthetized before receiving potassium chloride, including
having a board-certified anesthesiologist mix the drugs and directly
observe their administration.
This decision is not binding in Tennessee, but it is of interest with
regard to the use of potassium chloride.
Whom Has Tennessee Executed in the Past?
Prior to 1916, all executions in Tennessee were done by hanging. There
weren't very clear records kept, so the records available to us start at
1916.
All executions have been men. So far, the state of Tennessee has executed
85 black men and 41 white men. Among those men, one white man was executed
for the federal government.
89 men were executed for murder, and 36 men were executed for rape. 2 were
executed for rape and murder.
53 of the men executed for murder were black, and 36 of the men executed
for murder were white. Black men have made up about 60% of the state's
executions for murder.
31 of the men executed for rape were black. 5 of the executions for rape
were white. Black men have made up 86% of the state's executions for rape.
1 of the men executed for rape and murder was white, and the other man was
black.
Shelby County has sent 30 men to execution.
Davidson County has sent 23 men to execution.
Knox County has sent 11 men to execution.
Hamilton County has sent 8 men to execution.
Anderson County has sent 6 men to execution.
Roane County has sent 3 men to execution.
Warren County has sent 3 men to execution.
Madison County has sent 3 men to execution.
The rest of the counties sent 2 or fewer men to execution.
26 of the 30 sent to execution by Shelby County were black. That's a rate
of about 87%. 18 of the 23 sent to execution by Davidson County were
black. That's a rate of about 78%. 7 of the 11 sent to execution by Knox
County were black. That's about 63.6%.
All 6 men sent to execution by Anderson County were white. All 3 of the
men sent to execution by Madison County were black.
The rest fall into groups of 2 or fewer.
(source: WBIR News)
The following is a compilation of facts and statistics on capital
punishment in Tennessee, compiled by 10 News Investigative Producer, Jake
Jost.
Who is on death row?
There are 102 inmates remaining on death row after the recent execution of
Sedley Alley. 2 of them are women, and the rest are men. 58 of them are
white, 41 are black, 1 is Indian, another is Hispanic, and another is
Asian. Both women are white.
The average age of a death row inmate is about 45 (44.89), and the median
age is 44 1/2. That's one sign the age distribution is fairly consistent.
The inmate with the crime committed longest ago is Richard Austin. He's
also the oldest death row inmate, at 67. The crime for which he was
convicted occurred on May 23, 1977. He has a petition pending, so there's
currently no execution date set for him.
The most recent crime to send someone to death row was committed by James
Riels on April 21, 2003. He has made a direct appeal to the Supreme Court.
His status is listed as "awaiting filing of appellant's brief."
As mentioned previously, the oldest death row inmate is Richard Austin.
The youngest is 22-year-old Devin Banks. He'll turn 23 on August 2nd. He
was just 19 when he committed 1st degree murder.
Some people spend a great deal of time on death row. 27 inmates have spent
more than 20 years on death row, with 4 of them having spent more than 25
years on death row.
4 men (David Duncan, Donald Strouth, Michael Coleman, and Cecil Johnson)
have spent more than half of their lives on death row.
All of the current death row inmates have been found guilty of some form
of murder, although Tennessee has executed men for murder in the past.
How Did They Get There?
The first execution date for an inmate is set at sentencing by the trial
court. If they successfully appeal anything beyond the trial court, the
state Supreme Court then sets any subsequent execution dates. The
Tennessee Supreme Court will set the execution date regardless of where
the inmate made his or her appeal.
For Sedley Alley, that happened on the 2nd of June. The court opted for
June 28th, 2006, the same day as Paul Reid's schedule execution. His
previous date for execution was May 17th, but Governor Bredesen granted
him a reprieve to try to get DNA testing. A Memphis judge heard Alley's
petition for DNA testing and dismissed it, saying he wasn't entitled to
testing on the evidence gathered at the scene of the 1985 murder. They
then went to the Court of Criminal Appeals, which upheld the Memphis
judge's ruling on the 22nd of June. With an execution date set by the
Tennessee Supreme Court, the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of
Correction set an execution time of 1 AM central time. Alley's conviction
came for the murder of 19-year-old Suzanne Collins.
Paul Reid has been sentenced to the death penalty seven times. He was
convicted in 1999 for the 1997 slaying of 7 fast food workers. There is
currently a stay against Reid's execution while the court considers the
issue of whether Reid is mentally competent to discontinue his appeals.
Where Are They Now?
Inmates on death row spend the last few days of their sentence on
"Deathwatch." Under Deathwatch, inmates are allowed very limited items in
their cells and limited visitors. They're under 24-hour surveillance.
Inmates are served normal meals, although they can make a special request,
within reason, for their last meal.
Most of the state's death row inmates are housed at Riverbend Maximum
Security Institution. It's a facility for men only, so the 2 women are
located at the Tennessee Prison for Women located in Nashville. All death
row inmates at Riverbend are under maximum security, but they have
different privilege levels based on their behavior. Good behavior can earn
them more time with visitors and other privileges. They wake up at 5:30,
receive breakfast at 7, receive lunch at 11, receive dinner at 5, and
lights are out by 9. All meals are in their cells.
The women get similar treatment, but aren't in a separate housing unit at
the Tennessee Prison for Women because there's only 2 of them.
Some of the state's male death row inmates are at Brushy Mountain
Correctional Complex, where they're locked up 23 hours of the day. They
get transferred to Brushy Mountain for behavioral or security problems.
Where Do They Come From?
Forty-one were convicted in Shelby County, 12 in Davidson, 6 in Knox, 4 in
Hamilton, 3 in McMinn, 3 in Blount, and 3 in Sullivan. The rest of the
counties have sent 2 or fewer of the current death row inmates.
25 black men on death row were sent there by Shelby County, compared to 14
white men and 1 white woman sent by Shelby County.
Davidson County sent 6 of the black men and 6 of the white men to death
row.
Knox County has sent 4 of the white men, 1 white woman, and 1 black man
currently on death row. Hamilton County sent 3 of the white men and 1
black man currently on death row.
McMinn County has sent 3 of the white men currently on death row.
Blount County has sent 2 of the white men and 1 black man.
Sullivan County has sent 2 of the white men and the only Indian man on
death row.
How Will They Die?
Tennessee's default method of execution has been the lethal injection
since 1998. All death row inmates who committed their offenses on or after
January 1, 1999, will receive lethal injection as their means of
execution. Those who committed their offenses prior to January 1, 1999,
are allowed to choose the electric chair if they so prefer.
Lethal injection happens in a 3-step process:
1. Sodium Pentothol puts the inmate to sleep.
2.Pancuronium Bromide (Pavulon) stops breathing.
3.Potassium Chloride stops the heart's beat.
The injection process is viewed by witnesses through a window. However,
witnesses are screened from seeing the injection preparations and the
death certification.
There has been recent concern over the pain associated with potassium
chloride. On June 26th, a federal district judge halted all executions in
the state of Missouri over concerns that prisoners felt too much pain from
the administration of potassium chloride.
Missouri now has to take additional steps to ensure prisoners are
sufficiently anesthetized before receiving potassium chloride, including
having a board-certified anesthesiologist mix the drugs and directly
observe their administration.
This decision is not binding in Tennessee, but it is of interest with
regard to the use of potassium chloride.
Whom Has Tennessee Executed in the Past?
Prior to 1916, all executions in Tennessee were done by hanging. There
weren't very clear records kept, so the records available to us start at
1916.
All executions have been men. So far, the state of Tennessee has executed
85 black men and 41 white men. Among those men, one white man was executed
for the federal government.
89 men were executed for murder, and 36 men were executed for rape. 2 were
executed for rape and murder.
53 of the men executed for murder were black, and 36 of the men executed
for murder were white. Black men have made up about 60% of the state's
executions for murder.
31 of the men executed for rape were black. 5 of the executions for rape
were white. Black men have made up 86% of the state's executions for rape.
1 of the men executed for rape and murder was white, and the other man was
black.
Shelby County has sent 30 men to execution.
Davidson County has sent 23 men to execution.
Knox County has sent 11 men to execution.
Hamilton County has sent 8 men to execution.
Anderson County has sent 6 men to execution.
Roane County has sent 3 men to execution.
Warren County has sent 3 men to execution.
Madison County has sent 3 men to execution.
The rest of the counties sent 2 or fewer men to execution.
26 of the 30 sent to execution by Shelby County were black. That's a rate
of about 87%. 18 of the 23 sent to execution by Davidson County were
black. That's a rate of about 78%. 7 of the 11 sent to execution by Knox
County were black. That's about 63.6%.
All 6 men sent to execution by Anderson County were white. All 3 of the
men sent to execution by Madison County were black.
The rest fall into groups of 2 or fewer.
(source: WBIR News)