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State v. Henderson3/7/2001
involving violence to the person and that the murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in committing or was attempting to commit a burglary. The supreme court held that the second aggravating circumstance was invalid, but upheld the death sentence based on the aggravating circumstance that the defendant had previously been convicted of felonies involving violence to the person.
In State v. Hurley, 876 S.W.2d 57 (Tenn. 1993), the defendant killed the victim by shooting him once in the head. The jury found the defendant guilty of premeditated murder and imposed the sentence of death upon finding one aggravating circumstance: that the murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in committing a robbery. The supreme court upheld the death sentence.
In State v. Howell, 868 S.W.2d 238 (Tenn. 1993), the twenty-seven-year-old defendant murdered the clerk of a convenience store by shooting him once in the head during the course of a robbery. The defendant did not cooperate with the authorities and he did not express remorse. The defendant presented evidence that he had been diagnosed as a slow learner, had been placed in special education classes, and had dropped out of school in the eighth grade. The jury found the defendant guilty of first degree felony murder and sentenced him to death upon finding two aggravating circumstances: that the defendant had previously been convicted of felonies involving the use of violence to the person, and the murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in committing a felony. The supreme court found that the jury's reliance upon the felony murder aggravating circumstance was invalid, but upheld the death sentence based on the aggravating circumstance that the defendant had previously been convicted of felonies involving the use of violence to the person.
In State v. Van Tran, 864 S.W.2d 465 (Tenn. 1993), the defendant killed a seventy-four-year-old victim in the course of a robbery. The victim had been shot once and was lying on the floor when the defendant shot her in the head. The defendant was age nineteen and had no prior record. Mitigating evidence included the defendant's good work record, cooperation with law enforcement, remorse, and educational problems. The jury imposed the death sentence after finding one aggravating circumstance: that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond that necessary to produce death. The supreme court upheld the death sentence.
In State v. Smith, 695 S.W.2d 954 (Tenn. 1985), the defendant robbed and killed a man by shooting him twice. The defendant confessed to the police. The jury sentenced the defendant to death after it found that one aggravating circumstance: that the defendant committed the murder during the perpetration of a robbery. The supreme court upheld the death sentence.
In State v. Caldwell, 671 S.W.2d 459 (Tenn. 1984), the defendant and the victim were engaged in a drinking bout that erupted into violence when the victim threw whiskey into the defendant's face. The defendant then shot the victim twice in the back of the head with a shotgun. The jury sentenced the defendant to death after it found that one aggravating circumstance: that the defendant had been previously convicted of felonies involving the use of violence to the person. The supreme court upheld the death sentence.
These cases, although not identical, contain numerous similarities to both the offense and the defendants before us. As is the case here, only one aggravating circumstance was validly considered in all six of the above cases and in three of the cases, the aggravating circumstance was the sa
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