Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> tcask:: on the road (to abolition)

Criminal Law

: tcask:: on the road (to abolition)

Pervis Payne

By Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing

In 1988, Pervis Payne, an African-American, was convicted in Shelby County and sentenced to death for the 1987 murders of Charisse Christopher, a white woman, and her two-year-old daughter, Lacie. He was also convicted and sentenced to thirty years for the attempted murder of Nicholas Christopher, Charisee Christopher's three-year-old son.On June 27, 1987, Payne went to his girlfriend's apartment in Millington to wait for her to return from a trip. His girlfriend's apartment was across the hall from the Christopher family. Later, around 3:00 p.m., the prosecution argued that after a day of drinking and injecting cocaine, Payne entered the Christopher apartment and made sexual advances toward Charisse. When she refused him, the prosecution argued that Payne stabbed Charisse repeatedly with a butcher knife...continue to full post

Full post as published by tcask:: on the road (to abolition) on June 01, 2009 (boomark / email).