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Thread: Gary Wayne Sutton - Tennessee Death Row

  1. #11
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    State Attorney General Seeks Execution Dates for Nine Death Row Prisoners

    By Steven Hale
    Nashville Scene

    Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery is asking the Tennessee Supreme Court to set execution dates for nine more men, including the four remaining death row prisoners from Nashville.

    The request for more execution dates came without warning. Slatery’s office filed motions asking for the dates on Sept. 20 — the same day the AG announced he would challenge Nashville Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins’ decision to vacate the death sentence of Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman at the request of Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk. Slatery took aim at Watkins and Funk — both of whom are elected officials — in a press release announcing the legal challenge, calling the decision to drop

    Abdur’Rahman’s death sentence “unlawful” and “unprecedented.” Funk said he stands by his position, while Abdur’Rahman’s attorney Bradley MacLean called the AG’s move “unprecedented” and said the state is “bound” by Watkins’ order.

    The AG can seek execution dates for a death row prisoner once the prisoner has exhausted the three-tier appeals process. The state Supreme Court decides when the executions will take place. In February 2018, Slatery sought a slew of execution dates and asked for them to be scheduled in quick succession, citing concerns about the state’s ability to carry out lethal injections beyond June of that year. The state Supreme Court ultimately blocked the AG’s request for the rush of executions.

    Excluding Abdur’Rahman — whose execution had been scheduled for April 16, 2020 — there are two more men scheduled to be executed in the coming months: Lee Hall on Dec. 5 and Nicholas Sutton on Feb. 20.

    The men for whom the AG is seeking execution dates are below:

    Gary Sutton (Blount County), who was convicted, along with co-defendant James Dellinger, in the 1992 murders of Tommy Griffin and Connie Branam.

    Like the five men who have been executed since August 2018, many of the men above have a history of severe mental illness.

    The Scene received this response from Assistant Federal Public Defender Kelley Henry:

    We learned of the request for mass executions late yesterday after receiving the requests in the mail. Seven of the nine are represented by my office. All of the remaining Davidson county cases are included in the request. We were surprised by the request for mass executions. Each case is unique and represents a number of fundamental constitutional problems including innocence, racism, and severe mental illness. We will oppose the appointed Attorney General’s request.

    https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/...-row-prisoners
    Last edited by Mike; 09-24-2019 at 09:28 AM.
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

  2. #12
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    30 years waiting, 2 convicted murderers sitting on death row

    Transcripts from the murder trial of Stella Whitted’s sister are upstairs in her house, inside a box, collecting dust. At one point, she thought she would use them to write a book but said now, it’s too hard to reread them and relive the murders of her 2 younger siblings.

    On Feb. 24, 1992, her brother Tommy Mayford Griffin was found face down on a riverbank, dead. 4 days later, her sister, Connie Branam, was found burned alive in her car. Whitted said she has relived those deaths during every trial she’s attended and served as a witness for in the past 3 decades.

    Gary Wayne Sutton, now 52, and his uncle James Henderson Dellinger were convicted for the murders and have been on death row since 1996. Their first execution date was Nov. 9, 1996, and then a second on Sept. 17, 2002. Appeals have delayed the process.

    They’re alive now and incarcerated, with no date set for execution in the future.

    “Everybody’s gone and what am I here for? Stuck and them not doing nothing,” Whitted said. “But I always went to their appeals because it’s not ended for me. And I don’t want none of my other brothers and sisters hurt, and I don’t care what they do to me, they can’t hurt me no worse than they already have.”

    The hold up

    2 years ago, in September 2019, a motion was filed for Sutton’s execution along with eight others on death row in Tennessee. The district attorney’s office told Whitted that it would keep her updated on the situation, letting her know when a date was set, but they didn’t, she said.

    The Daily Times reached out to one of Tennessee’s assistants to the DA, Amy Tarkington, several times and inquired about Whitted’s claims that they’re purposefully avoiding her calls, but Tarkington never responded.

    Up until last Monday, Whitted said that she was unable to reach anyone in the office for updates. However, she said, she spoke to a woman over the phone on Sept. 13, who sent her the execution motion from 2019. She also allegedly told Whitted that they’re “overloaded” right now, the pandemic has stirred more issues and a date could be set soon, for Sutton.

    A court record from February 2020 states that Sutton and his law team opposed the 2019 execution motion on the premise that he shouldn’t be executed if Dellinger isn’t also. They were convicted equally in fault and involvement.

    In September 2018, Dellinger filed a motion with new evidence that showed a 3rd party could have been involved in the murders.

    Another defense he has used throughout hearings and appeals is that his IQ is low enough to qualify as a mental disability, therefore he can’t be executed.

    The Tennessee legislature passed a bill in April 2021 that prohibits anyone on death row with an intellectual disability to be executed.

    The DA for Blount County, Mike Flynn, was one of the prosecutors who worked to convict Dellinger and Sutton in the 1990s. He said that the court has consistently held Dellinger as “competent and not mentally impaired.”

    “Certainly, there’s a big age difference in the two,” Flynn said. “So, it’s entirely possible that one or the other may die before they are executed.”

    The murders

    Flynn remembers how difficult the trials were for the family, especially the mother who had lost a daughter and son days apart. He said the lengthy appeal process is still difficult for the family members who are alive and involved, like Whitted.

    Whitted said she fears that one day, Sutton and Dellinger will be released and destroy another family.

    Griffin was found near Walland on an embankment by Little River with a large hole in the back of his head from a shotgun blast. Reports stated that Griffin’s trailer was seen in flames shortly before people heard 2 gunshots.

    The convicted murderers, Sutton and Dellinger, lived near Griffin, and occasionally, they would go places together. Whitted was specific that they were acquaintances, not friends.

    On the night Griffin was killed, he, Sutton and Dellinger were seen at a bar together, and someone testified seeing them get into a scuffle after leaving. Griffin was found on the side of the road with some injuries, was arrested and charged with public intoxication. Later that night, Sutton and Dellinger bailed Griffin out of jail, which was the last time he was seen alive.

    The trial concluded that Griffin’s sister came looking for him the next day, and Sutton and Dellinger lit her car on fire while she was inside, leaving her to burn to death.

    The move forward

    Whitted said the rest of her family, except her, was able to move on from the murders.

    “Not never gotten out of it. I’m still right here in it,” Whitted said. “And I will be until they’re either completely off the streets for good, or till they’re gone for good.”

    Her niece, Sandy Branam, said the same of Whitted — that she’ll never overcome what happened to her mother and uncle in 1992.

    Branam was 15 years old when her mother was murdered. She remembers it better than her younger brother and sister, who she said, “got cheated,” to have their mother killed at “such a young age.”

    Branam said they were a close family, and after their mom died, her dad tried his best to raise them.

    “I do think my life could’ve been different if my momma would’ve been here,” Branam said.

    She got into some trouble with drugs not long ago and was arrested, but said she found her way out of the trouble and is doing better now.

    It’s hard for Branam to see that Sutton and Dellinger haven’t been executed almost 25 years after their original date was set. Although, she said, God has a plan.

    “That’s a long time to sit there and think about what they’ve done,” Branam said, adding that her family still doesn’t understand why her mother and uncle were killed.

    “You can have a snake in your grass, right by your back door,” Branam said, “and not even know it.”

    (source: thedailytimes.com)
    "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."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "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.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  3. #13
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    Sutton has an execution date set for October 6, 2022.

    https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/defau...xecution_0.pdf

  4. #14
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Gov. Lee Calls for Independent Review Following Smith Reprieve

    Today, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced plans to launch a third-party review of a lethal injection testing oversight that resulted in a temporary reprieve for death row inmate Oscar Franklin Smith.

    “I review each death penalty case and believe it is an appropriate punishment for heinous crimes,” said Lee. “However, the death penalty is an extremely serious matter, and I expect the Tennessee Department of Correction to leave no question that procedures are correctly followed.”

    Both the United States Supreme Court and Lee declined to intervene on the merits of Smith’s case, but questions surrounding lethal injection testing preparation for the April 21 execution resulted in a temporary reprieve by the governor.

    Tennessee will retain former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton to conduct an independent review of the following:

    · Circumstances that led to testing the lethal injection chemicals for only potency and sterility but not endotoxins preparing for the April 21 execution

    · Clarity of the lethal injection process manual that was last updated in 2018, and adherence to testing policies since the update

    · TDOC staffing considerations

    “An investigation by a respected third-party will ensure any operational failures at TDOC are thoroughly addressed,” said Lee. “We will pause scheduled executions through the end of 2022 in order to allow for the review and corrective action to be put in place.”

    Since 2019, three of four executions have been carried out by electric chair. Death row inmates may choose to be executed by electric chair rather than lethal injection, and lethal injection is the default execution method in Tennessee. The April 21 execution was set to be the first execution since February 2020 due to disruptions caused by COVID-19. This execution was one of five executions scheduled to take place this year. The Tennessee Supreme Court will determine rescheduled dates for the 2022 executions.

    https://www.tn.gov/governor/news/202...-reprieve.html
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

  5. #15
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Did a disgraced Nashville medical examiner put an innocent man on death row?

    By Ben Hall
    News Channel 5

    Did bogus testimony from a disgraced medical examiner put an innocent man on death row?

    Attorneys for Gary Wayne Sutton worry he will be among the first to get an execution date when the state resumes executions.

    Sutton's case has a close connection to disgraced Nashville medical examiner Charles Harlan, who had his license revoked back in 2005.

    Harlan played a key role in Sutton's 1996 murder trial and other murder trials across the state.

    Harlan died in 2013, but Sutton's attorneys argue his flawed testimony should not lead to Sutton's execution.

    Sutton was arrested back in 1992 for the murder of Tommy Griffin. Griffin's body was found along the banks of the Little River in Blount County.

    Days later Griffin's sister, Connie Branam, was also found dead - burned beyond recognition in her car.

    It didn't take long for police to arrest Gary Wayne Sutton and his uncle James Dellinger.

    Dellinger died early this year on death row, but Sutton remains there and has always maintained his innocence.

    Longtime friend Carolyn Miller was with Sutton when he was arrested and is certain he is innocent.

    NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked Miller, "How can you be sure he did not do it?"

    Miller responded, "Because I was with him that weekend."

    Sutton's attorney Susanne Bales has been fighting for years to get him off death row.

    "The judicial system makes mistakes sometimes and this is one of those mistakes," Bales said.

    A key part of the prosecution's case in the 1996 murder trial was a timeline that included when Griffin died.

    Tommy Griffin's body was discovered on a Monday morning, but prosecutors said he was murdered three days earlier on Friday night right after Sutton and his uncle bailed Griffin out of jail.

    "The timeline required Mr. Griffin to have been dead for 64 hours," Bales said.

    But when Griffin's body was discovered Monday morning, first responders said the gunshot wound seemed fresh and the body was in full rigor mortis.

    "When first responders responded, the body was in rigor, and that's something that usually dissipates within a day," Bales said.

    A former Blount County medical examiner, Dr. Wolfe, testified at trial that Griffin was likely dead only 24 to 36 hours which destroyed the prosecution's theory of what happened.

    "There was a time when we came out of that courtroom, we thought he was coming home until Charles Harlan got up on the stand," Miller said.

    Miller said the whole trial turned when prosecutors called Dr. Charles Harlan as a surprise witness.

    "They had to have a timeline when Tommy got killed and Harlan gave them that timeline," Miller said.

    Harlan told jurors Griffin was likely shot on Friday night.

    He never examined the body and said he made his determination based on slides of organs.

    "They prepped Dr. Harlan to give this testimony that perfectly gave the state what they needed to make their case," Bales said.

    Knox County's current medical examiner, Dr. Mileusnic-Pochan has since testified determining death based on slides of organs is "not the recognized science."

    "She found the specific way Dr. Harlan did this is scientifically impossible," Bales said.

    But jurors seemed to believe it based in part on the fact prosecutors touted Harlan as the state's chief medical examiner.

    "Dr. Harlan testified that he was the state's chief medical examiner even though he had been fired from that position," Bales said.

    Prosecutors have said they did not know Harlan was under investigation by the TBI for incompetence when he testified at the 1996 trial.

    In fact, when he testified, he'd been banned from the TBI crime lab.

    NewsChannel 5 did several stories on bizarre situations involving Harlan.

    In 2005, Sherry Rigsby rented a Crieve Hall home once owned by the former medical examiner - part of the deal was to clean out some old boxes.

    "We were going through boxes, and I picked up papers and found autopsy reports," Rigsby said in 2005.

    She called the current Davidson County medical examiner at the time - Bruce Levy - who said they were from cases in the late 80s and early 90s.

    Harlan later said they were left in the home by his wife.

    The state board of medical examiners finally ended Harlan's 33-year career in 2005.

    They cited numerous bungled autopsies and revoked his medical license.

    "I think it should be noted that this case has a pattern of continued or repeated negligence or incompetence," said one board member at the 2005 hearing.

    Harlan's defense attorney argued that revoking his license could impact many of the murder convictions in which Harlan testified.

    "A finding of incompetence could affect all of the criminal convictions in which he has testified in the last few years," said Harlan's attorney Dan Warlick in 2005.

    And in fact, some people have gotten new trials, but Gary Sutton has not.

    "It's very difficult to get a federal court to intervene and overturn a state conviction," Bales said.

    Sutton had one execution date set and attorneys fear he will get a new date if Tennessee resumes executions.

    "He didn't do this. There's an innocent man that's sitting on death row that's getting to be executed for a crime he didn't do," Miller said.

    The Attorney General has maintained in numerous court filings that Sutton's conviction was appropriate.

    We attempted to reach the family of Tommy Griffin and Connie Branam on multiple occasions.

    After the story was published online, the sister of Griffin and Branam reached out and said she believes Sutton is guilty.

    Stella Whitted said after all these years, she doubts Sutton will ever be executed, but she added that she believes he should be put to death for the crime.

    https://www.newschannel5.com/news/ne...n-on-death-row
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

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