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    Byron Lewis Black - Tennessee Death Row






    Summary of Offense:

    Byron Lewis Black was convicted in 1989 of three counts of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of his girlfriend, Angela Clay, and her two daughters, Latoya and Lakeisha Clay. A jury sentenced Black to death for the murder of Lakeisha Clay and to two life sentences for the murders of Angela and Latoya Clay.

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    On May 28, 2008, Black filed an appeal in the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals over the denial of his habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    http://dockets.justia.com/docket/cir...s/ca6/08-5644/

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    Byron Black v. Ricky Bell

    In today's Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals opinions, the court AFFIRMED the district court’s denial of Black’s habeas petition regarding his non-Atkins claims, VACATED the court’s judgment regarding the denial of Black’s petition concerning his Atkins claim, and REMANDED the case for further proceedings.

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    Death row inmate wins appeal

    A death row inmate’s life may be spared after a federal appeals court ruled that his claims of mental disability were not properly considered by the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.

    Byron Black, 55, was sentenced to death in 1989 in Nashville after he was found guilty of killing his girlfriend, Angela Clay, and her two minor daughters, Latoya, 9, and Lakeisha, 6.

    Black has lost several appeals on various claims in the years since. But today the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision that the state Court of Criminal Appeals did not properly evaluate whether Black has a mental disability. In 2001 and 2002, respectively, the Tennessee and U.S. supreme courts ruled that the execution of mentally disabled people violates state and federal constitutional bans on cruel and unusual punishment.

    In 2006, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling that Black was not mentally disabled. The court chose not to consider factors that could affect the accuracy of IQ tests, such as the “standard error of measurement” or the Flynn Effect, which “calls for adjusting downward the score that a subject receives on an older I.Q. test based on the idea that the general population’s level of knowledge increases over time.”

    The Tennessee Supreme Court, in an opinion this year, has subsequently ruled that such factors should be considered in assessing a defendant’s mental ability. Writing for the majority, 6th Circuit Judge Ronald Lee Gilman ruled in today’s opinion that the state Supreme Court’s decision should be applied retroactively to cases such as Black’s. Circuit Judge Danny J. Boggs dissented, and wrote that Black should seek relief in the state, rather than federal, courts.

    The case has been remanded to U.S. District Court Judge Todd J. Campbell in Nashville. Black will ask Campbell to set aside his death sentence because he is mentally disabled and therefore ineligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors dispute that claim. To bolster, they have presented experts who suspect Black purposefully malingered on IQ tests in order to artificially deflate his scores.

    “We are reviewing the opinion and assessing our options,” said Sharon Curtis-Flair, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office.

    Black’s attorney, Kelley Henry, of the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Nashville, declined to comment.

    http://www.tennessean.com/article/20...te-wins-appeal

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    Attorneys argue inmate should not face death penalty because he is mentally disabled

    Attorneys for a Tennessee death row inmate are asking a federal judge to spare him from facing the death penalty because he is mentally disabled.

    Byron Lewis Black was convicted in 1989 of killing his girlfriend, Angela Clay, and her two young daughters, Latoya and Lakeisha, in Nashville. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the case back to district court after deciding his claims were not adequately considered by a state appeals court.

    Oral arguments are scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Prosecutors argue that Black's scores on IQ tests taken before he turned 18 were not less than 70, which is a factor in determining mental disability. His attorneys say they are unable to communicate with Black because of his intellectual disability and argue that clinical evaluation should also be considered.

    http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...-Penalty-Black
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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    On January 22, 2013, Black's Atkins (mental retardation) claim was denied on remand in Federal District Court.

    http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal...0764/6438/161/

    On February 21, 2013, Black filed an appeal before the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

    http://dockets.justia.com/docket/cir...s/ca6/13-5224/

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    Case files: New appeals for Tennessee death row inmates

    By Stacey Barchenger
    The Tennessean

    Lawyers have filed motions in Tennessee courts on behalf of condemned inmates that present a new, and perhaps unexpected, course of attack on the death penalty: Citing the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. The motions seek to re-open the condemned inmates' cases.

    They argue that the Supreme Court justices in the 2015 same-sex marriage case, known as Obergefell, ruled that courts cannot infringe on fundamental rights, including the right to life. The inmates say that to impose a death sentence infringes on that right.

    Many of those motions have been denied by judges, though a few are still pending.

    Here are some of those cases:

    Byron Black, Davidson County, motion denied: Black shot to death his girlfriend and her two daughters at their Nashville home in 1988.

    http://www.tennessean.com/story/news...ates/91294878/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
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    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
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    On December 8, 2016, oral argument will be heard in Black's appeal before the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The panel will be made up of Judges Cole (Clinton), Boggs (Reagan) and Griffin (G.W. Bush).

    http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/sites/ca...120516_arg.pdf

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    On August 10, 2017, the Sixth Circuit DENIED Black's appeal.

    https://law.justia.com/cases/federal...017-08-10.html

    On October 27, 2017, the Sixth Circuit DENIED Black's petition for en banc rehearing.

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketP...8011015430.pdf

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    Tennessee death row inmate seeks stay citing COVID-19 disruption

    Attorneys for a man convicted of killing a woman and her 2 daughters asked the Tennessee Supreme Court on Wednesday to delay his October execution, citing disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

    Their motion said they've been unable to conduct the investigations required in the months leading up to the scheduled execution of Byron Black.

    "Mr. Black's counsel cannot properly prepare for his competency to be executed hearing required to take place during the middle of August. Nor can counsel prepare for clemency proceedings which must take place simultaneously," the motion read.

    Black was convicted in 1988 for killing Angela Clay and her 2 daughters, Latoya and Lakeisha.

    The request comes 2 weeks after the Tennessee Supreme Court delayed the June execution of Oscar Smith on similar grounds. Texas has put off the executions of John Hummel, Tracy Beatty, Fabian Hernandez, Billy Wardlow and Randall Mays.

    Assistant Federal Public Defender Kelley Henry represents both Tennessee men.

    Beyond the delay, Black's lawyers are seeking to have his execution stayed based on grounds he's not competent for execution. They said he has brain damage and schizophrenia, and an IQ of 67.

    They said the experts needed to examine Black in order to hold a competency hearing can't travel to Tennessee because of COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

    Death penalty experts warn the pandemic could disrupt U.S. executions for months to come.

    Robert Dunham, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Death Penalty Information Center, told UPI in March there's a lot of legal work that happens once a death row inmate is put on the calendar for execution. In some cases, witnesses don't come forward to provide evidence or testimony until there's a date.

    "It would be irresponsible and potentially deadly for the defense teams to be sending out investigators," he said.

    (source: United Press International)
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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