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State v. Thomas2/27/2004
f any remorse on the part of the Defendant for the loss of Mr. Day's life. As for a potential for rehabilitation, the Defendant did earn his GED while in prison and did find employment following his incarceration but had been released for only a short time before committing the current offense. The Defendant's family indicated a belief that the Defendant could contribute to their lives, even if incarcerated.
Considering the nature of this crime and the Defendant's character, Tennessee's appellate courts have approved the death penalty in cases that have many similarities with this case. Our supreme court has upheld the death penalty in numerous cases wherein the defendant shot the unarmed victim from close range and with no provocation. See, e.g., State v. McKinney, 74 S.W.3d 291, 299 (Tenn.), cert. den. 537 U.S. 926, 123 S.Ct. 321 (2002), (defendant shot unarmed victim in back of neck from close range); Sims, 45 S.W.3d at 19 (defendant shot unarmed victim in back of head with no provocation); State v. Henderson, 24 S.W.3d 307, 316 (Tenn.), cert. den. 531 U.S. 934, 121 S.Ct. 320 (2000), (defendant shot unarmed and unconscious deputy sheriff in head at close range); Bland, 958 S.W.2d at 670 (defendant shot unarmed victim); Stout, 46 S.W.3d at 707 (defendant shot victim in back of head with no provocation). The death sentence has been upheld based on the sole aggravating circumstance of a prior violent felony conviction, Tenn. Code Ann. ยง 39-13-204(i)(2). See, e.g., McKinney, 74 S.W.3d at 291 (prior conviction for aggravated robbery); State v. Chalmers, 28 S.W.3d 913 (Tenn. 2000), cert. den. 532 U.S. 925, 121 S.Ct. 1367 (2001), (prior convictions for attempted especially aggravated robbery and attempted first degree murder); State v. Keough, 18 S.W.3d 175 (Tenn.), cert. den. 531 U.S. 886, 121 S.Ct. 205 (2000), (prior convictions for assault to commit voluntary manslaughter and manslaughter). The prior violent felony factor is an aggravating circumstance that our supreme court has described as "`more qualitatively persuasive and objectively reliable than others.'" McKinney, 74 S.W.3d at 313 (quoting State v. Howell, 868 S.W.2d 238, 261 (Tenn. 1993)). Finally, the death sentence has been affirmed where the defendants were of approximately the same age as Defendant Thomas. See, e.g., State v. Carter, 114 S.W.3d 895, 909 (Tenn. 2003) (defendant twenty-four years old); Smith, 993 S.W.2d at 6 (twenty-three-year-old defendant); State v. Burns, 979 S.W.2d 276 (Tenn.1998), cert. den. 527 U.S. 1039, 119 S.Ct. 2402 (1999), (twenty-three-year-old defendant shot and killed victim during robbery); State v. Cribbs, 967 S.W.2d 773 (Tenn.), cert. den. 525 U.S. 932, 119 S.Ct. 343 (1998) (twenty-three-year-old defendant shot victim once in the head).
Upon our review of the above and other cases, we conclude that this murder places Defendant Thomas in the class of defendants for whom the death penalty is an appropriate punishment and that the death sentence imposed by the jury in this case is proportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases. In so concluding, we have considered the entire record and reach the decision that the sentence of death was not imposed arbitrarily, that the evidence supports the finding of the (i)(2) aggravator, that the evidence supports the jury's finding that the aggravating circumstance outweighs mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt, and that the sentence is not excessive or disproportionate.
Issues Raised by Defendant Bond
I. Testimony of Angela Jackson
The State called Angela Jackson as a rebuttal witness at the close of the Defendants' proof. During rebuttal, the prosecution asked Ms. Jackson whether Ms. Jackson had contacted th
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