Tennessee Supreme Court, 1997

The Tennessee Supreme Court reversed the Court of Criminal Appeals and reinstated the denial of Henley’s post-conviction petition, concluding that the record did not preponderate against the trial court’s finding that he had not established ineffective assistance at sentencing.

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed Bland’s first-degree murder conviction and death sentence, concluding that the evidence supported premeditation and deliberation, the torture aggravator, and the jury’s weighing of aggravating and mitigating circumstances.

The Tennessee Supreme Court reversed the denial of summary judgment and entered judgment for the defendants on the Bains’ claims arising from the placement of an HIV-positive patient in Jerry Bain’s room.