The Tennessee Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments for a case on November 6, 2024, in Jackson. The proceedings will take place at the Tennessee Supreme Court building and are scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. CDT. The session will be available via livestream on the TNCourts YouTube page.
The case under review is "State of Tennessee v. Pervis Tyrone Payne." In 1988, Payne was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault with intent to commit murder, receiving a death sentence for the murders and a thirty-year sentence for the assault. His sentences were initially ordered to run consecutively due to his classification as a dangerous offender.
In 2021, following an amendment to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-203(g), which provides procedures for assessing intellectual disability in death row inmates, Payne filed a petition under this statute. After evaluation, the State conceded that Payne qualifies as intellectually disabled and thus is not eligible for the death penalty anymore.
Consequently, both parties agreed on two life sentences for Payne but differed on whether these should be served consecutively or concurrently. Despite objections from the State, a trial court ruled that Payne's murder sentences should run concurrently after determining he was no longer considered dangerous. This decision was upheld by the Court of Criminal Appeals.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has granted permission to appeal this ruling to address whether a trial court can reassess the consecutive alignment of original sentences following an intellectual disability determination under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-203(g).
Media personnel planning to attend must adhere to Supreme Court Rule 30 and submit any necessary requests through Samantha Fisher, Communications Director at the Administrative Office of the Courts.