BACKGROUND: Innocence Project: Up-to-date: Author Danielle Selby: See link below:
"Pervis Payne has maintained his innocence for more than 30 years. Yet, despite having no prior criminal record and living with an intellectual disability, he was sentenced to death in Tennessee. Governor Bill Lee granted Mr. Payne a temporary execution reprieve, which set to expire on April 9, 2021. The Innocence Project joined Kelley Henry’s team at the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Nashville and the Milbank firm in filing a legal petition on July 22, 2020 for DNA testing of evidence in Mr. Payne’s case that had never been tested before and could help prove his innocence. And testing of some evidence was completed and submitted to the court in January 2021; however, key pieces of evidence mysteriously went missing before testing could be done. Mr. Payne has always maintained his innocence and said that he was waiting for his girlfriend to return to her apartment in Millington, Tennessee, one afternoon in June 1987, when he discovered that her neighbor, Charisse Christopher, and her children had been brutally attacked. Mr. Payne, who lives with an intellectual disability, was shocked by the bloody scene. Despite his panic, he tried to help, but as soon as he saw the police arriving, he had a sinking feeling that he would be mistaken for the attacker. His fear soon became reality. Mr. Payne was arrested later that day, and the following February was convicted of murder and sentenced to death . More than three decades later, he is still on death row.
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Here’s what you need to know about his case — including how the prosecution exploited Mr. Payne’s intellectual disability, hid evidence, and evoked racist stereotypes to convict him.
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1. Pervis Payne has always maintained his innocence. For 33 years, Mr. Payne has consistently said he did not commit this crime and that he was an innocent bystander who happened upon the crime scene and tried to help.
2. Key evidence from the case that could identify the actual perpetrator of the crime — including the victim’s fingernail clippings — have gone missing. For decades, the evidence in this case went untested. Last year, the Shelby County Criminal Court ordered testing and on Jan. 19, 2021, Mr. Payne’s lawyer’s submitted the results of the testing to the court, which included male DNA from an unknown third party, but it was too degraded to identify an alternate suspect using the FBI’s database. However, the State is unable to account for the crucial pieces of evidence that have mysteriously gone missing. The victim’s fingernail clippings, which have now disappeared, were particularly crucial as the prosecution argued at trial that the victim had scratched her attacker.
3. Mr. Payne had no motive to commit such a crime. Mr. Payne, who lives with an intellectual disability, is described by those who know him as kind and respectful. He loved to make his sisters and mother laugh and helped his father out at his church in any way he could. In the absence of a clear motive, the prosecution argued that Payne had taken drugs, looked at a Playboy magazine, and was looking for sex when he approached the victim. They argued that he attacked her after she rejected him. But there is no evidence that Payne had used drugs that day and he did not have a history of drug use, nor a criminal record.
4. The prosecution employed racial stereotypes to portray Mr. Payne, a Black man, as a hypersexual and violent drug user, who attacked a white woman. Shelby County, where Mr. Payne’s trial took place, is among the 25 counties with the most recorded lynchings between 1877 and 1950 in the United States. The county’s history is deeply rooted in slavery and deals with its legacy to this day. Knowing this, the prosecution repeatedly highlighted the victim’s “white skin” when referring to parts of her body during the trial, while painting a portrait of Mr. Payne as a drug-using, aggressive, hypersexual Black man. Similar stereotypes have historically been used to falsely accuse or wrongfully convict Black men, like Emmett Till and the “Scottsboro Boys” of raping white women.
5. The use of racial stereotypes is known to contribute to wrongful conviction and sentencing. Innocent Black people are seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder than innocent white people, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Studies have found that the victim’s race also influences the likelihood of the death sentence being applied. Nearly 300 Black people accused of murdering white people have been executed since 1976 — approximately 14 times more than the number of white people executed for murdering white people — the Death Penalty Information Center reported.
6. Mr. Payne lives with an intellectual disability, which means it is unconstitutional to execute him. Growing up Mr. Payne struggled in school and, despite his best efforts, was not able to graduate. His teachers say he put in a lot of effort, but had difficulty learning to read, spell, and do math. Mr. Payne’s family say he is not able to follow complicated instructions, including driving to new places. Growing up, he had trouble with chores like cooking and doing laundry, and needed help feeding himself until he was 5.
Because of his disability, Mr. Payne was not able to fully participate in his defense and was not a strong witness on his own behalf. At the time of his trial, Mr. Payne’s disability was not recognized, but doctors have since confirmed through testing that Mr. Payne has an intellectual disability.
7. Tennessee lawmakers are currently considering a bill that could protect Mr. Payne from execution due to his intellectual disability, under the Supreme Court ruling on Atkins vs. Virginia. (Bill passed: Subject of this post);
8. There are other suspects. The victim’s ex-husband had a history of abusive behavior, including physically, mentally, and emotionally abusing the victim during their marriage. At the time, investigators excluded him as a suspect because he was serving a sentence for aggravated assault at Fort Pillow State Penitentiary, a minimum security prison, at the time of the murders. However, an employee of the prison has since admitted that it was common for minimum security inmates to leave the prison during the day without repercussions, meaning it would have been possible for him to visit the victim and potentially perpetrate the crime while serving his sentence. Additionally, a man was seen running from the crime scene shortly before Mr. Payne discovered Christopher in her apartment. Both Mr. Payne and another eyewitness also saw this man.
https://innocenceproject.org/pervis-payne-wrongful-conviction-what-to-know-innocent-tennessee/
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The new law would give Payne a chance to plead his case in court. His defense team has said evidence shows Payne has a particularly low IQ. His life could be spared if the court acknowledges is intellectual disabilities, which would make him ineligible for the death penalty."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "(Defence attorney Kelley Henry) Henry said in an interview she expects to immediately petition the Shelby County Criminal Court to hear Payne's case. With "overwhelming" evidence, Henry said she has high hopes the judge would deem Payne ineligible for the death penalty due to his intellectual disabilities. The bill's passage, she said, is only one step toward proving Payne's innocence, she said. Even if the execution is reversed, Payne would still be sentenced to life in prison, and the law would not allow the court to reexamine Payne's innocence claim. "(The bill) is a great step obviously to have that opportunity," she said. "But he still would remain convicted and imprisoned, so we will continue to press (on) in every other avenue that we can to advocate for his innocence."
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PASSAGE THREE OF THE DAY: "The Nashville-based federal public defender had pointed out inconsistencies in prosecutors' evidence and the investigation that led to Payne's conviction. The police believed Payne fled the crime scene after murdering two people, but they lacked evidence to back up Payne's alleged motive, Henry previously said. Tests conducted earlier this year showed DNA from the murder weapon that belongs to an unknown person other than Payne. "
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STORY: "Tennessee legislature: Court allowed to reconsider death sentences over intellectual disability appeal," by reporter Due Stella You, published by the Maashville Tennessean on April 26, 2021.
GIST: "Nearly 34 years after receiving his death sentence, Pervis Payne may finally have a chance to avert the execution chamber.
Convicted of a double murder in 1987, Payne was sentenced to death despite unanswered questions around the evidence. The 54-year-old Tennessean, who now faces an execution date that could come down from the court any minute, has maintained his innocence for more than three decades.
Carrying bipartisan support, a measure allowing death row inmates like Payne to appeal their sentence on intellectual disability grounds cleared the Tennessee legislature Monday night. It will soon go to Gov. Bill Lee for his signature.
The initiative passed the House 89-4 and the Senate 28-1 Monday night. Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, was the lone dissenting vote on the Senate floor.
The bill's passage marks a victory for those who have long advocated for reexamining Payne's case.
It reflects a yearslong push — by everyday Tennesseans, legal leaders and prominent political figures — for legislation allowing the court to examine the intellectual competency of convicted inmates. Payne's attorneys have called for mercy from Lee, who has not granted anyone clemency so far during his term as governor.
The new law would give Payne a chance to plead his case in court. His defense team has said evidence shows Payne has a particularly low IQ. His life could be spared if the court acknowledges is intellectual disabilities, which would make him ineligible for the death penalty.
The Republican-backed bill includes language from another measure proposed by Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis. Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, the sponsor of the measure, said lawmakers also worked with the Tennessee Disability Coalition, the Tennessee District Attorney Generals Conference and the state attorney general's office.
"This has always been about due process," Hardaway told The Tennessean Monday. "It's about the life of not just Pervis Payne, but there are other individuals on death row who may have claims of intellectual disabilities. They deserve to get into court to present their claims and have it adjudicated."
Bill gives only one chance to appeal on 'intellectual disability' basis:
Under the bill, an inmate with intellectual disabilities must suffer from "general intellectual functioning" that is "significantly" below average level. They must also demonstrate they are lacking in regular social behaviors and prove the intellectual disabilities had emerged by the age of 18.
Defense attorneys for the death row inmate can petition the trial court to examine the inmate's mental competency, but prosecutors are allowed to appeal the decision. The inmate is not allowed a second chance to plead the case on intellectual disability grounds if there is already a ruling over the matter.
Rep. David Hawk, R-Greeneville, who is carrying the legislation, said Monday night the measure has been years in the making. The bill "assures that we'll be able to follow constitutional provisions and follow court guidance on this subject," he said.
In a 2016 ruling, the Tennessee Supreme Court had recommended that lawmakers consider amending the state law to allow courts the chance to determine inmates' intellectual competency.
Gardenhire said the bill offers inmates only one chance in court to determine their intellectual competency. It also makes sure no one repeatedly appeals their case to prolong the process, he said.
"This bill does not provide for another bite of the apple," he said Monday night. "Because those few individuals never actually got the first bite of the apple."
Hardaway told The Tennessean that Lee spoke to him in private and signaled his support for the bill.
"The governor has indicated privately that he's inclined to support the legislation, and I expect him to sign the bill," he said.
Henry: bill passage 'a great step' toward justice:
Kelley Henry, Payne's defense attorney, applauded the legislature for working with the judicial branch in passing the bill.
"The Tennessee Supreme Court urged the Legislature to patch a hole in Tennessee law that prevented people with intellectual disability from accessing the courts to press their claim that their execution is barred by the Tennessee and United States constitutions," she said in a Monday statement. "Our legislature answered that call."
Henry said in an interview she expects to immediately petition the Shelby County Criminal Court to hear Payne's case. With "overwhelming" evidence, Henry said she has high hopes the judge would deem Payne ineligible for the death penalty due to his intellectual disabilities.
The bill's passage, she said, is only one step toward proving Payne's innocence, she said. Even if the execution is reversed, Payne would still be sentenced to life in prison, and the law would not allow the court to reexamine Payne's innocence claim.
"(The bill) is a great step obviously to have that opportunity," she said. "But he still would remain convicted and imprisoned, so we will continue to press (on) in every other avenue that we can to advocate for his innocence."
The Nashville-based federal public defender had pointed out inconsistencies in prosecutors' evidence and the investigation that led to Payne's conviction.
The police believed Payne fled the crime scene after murdering two people, but they lacked evidence to back up Payne's alleged motive, Henry previously said. Tests conducted earlier this year showed DNA from the murder weapon that belongs to an unknown person other than Payne. "
The entire story can be read at:
