Opinion ID: 1057579
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the prosecution and trial

Text: On February 22, 2000, a McMinn County grand jury indicted Mr. Hester for aggravated arson, first degree murder, and attempted first degree murder. The State filed notice of its intent to seek the death penalty for the murder of Mr. Haney on November 13, 2001. The trial was conducted from March 8, 2005 through March 12, 2005. Following the guilt phase of the trial, the jury found Mr. Hester guilty of aggravated arson, first degree murder, and attempted first degree murder. During the sentencing phase of the trial on March 11 and 12, 2005, the State sought the imposition of the death penalty based on three aggravating circumstances. [3] The jury heard and considered the testimony of a minister who had regularly visited Mr. Hester in prison, one of Mr. Hester's acquaintances, and Mr. Hester's mother, in addition to the testimony of the State's witnesses and the reading of three victim impact statements. After hearing and considering this evidence, the jury unanimously found that the State had proved the existence of two aggravating circumstances [4] and that the State had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating circumstances. Accordingly, the jury sentenced Mr. Hester to death for the murder of Mr. Haney. Mr. Hester filed a motion for new trial on August 12, 2005. [5] On February 16, 2006, the trial court conducted a sentencing hearing with regard to Mr. Hester's convictions for attempted first degree murder and aggravated arson and a hearing on his motion for new trial with regard to his capital conviction and sentence. The trial court sentenced Mr. Hester to twenty-five years on his conviction for attempted first degree murder and to twenty years on his conviction for aggravated arson. The court also ordered that these sentences should be served consecutively. On May 22, 2006, the trial court filed an order denying Mr. Hester's motion for new trial. Mr. Hester perfected a timely appeal to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, and that court handed down its opinion on February 5, 2009. State v. Hester, No. E2006-01904-CCA-R3-DD, 2009 WL 275760 (Tenn.Crim.App. Feb. 5, 2009). The Court of Criminal Appeals concluded that the trial court erred by enhancing Mr. Hester's sentence for attempted first degree murder based on factors neither admitted by Mr. Hester nor found by the jury. Accordingly, the Court of Criminal Appeals reduced Mr. Hester's twenty-five year sentence to the presumptive sentence of twenty years. The Court of Criminal Appeals also concluded that the trial court had erred by excluding certain testimony during the sentencing phase of the proceeding but found that this error was harmless. In all other respects, the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the judgments of the trial court. After conducting its own independent comparative proportionality review, the Court of Criminal Appeals concluded that Mr. Hester's sentence of death for the murder of Mr. Haney was proportionate to punishments imposed in similar cases. In accordance with our obligation under Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-206 (2006), we have thoroughly reviewed the record and have determined: (1) that the defendant's sentence of death was not imposed in an arbitrary fashion; (2) that the evidence fully supports the jury's finding of the existence of the aggravating circumstances in Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-204(i)(5) and (14); (3) that the evidence supports the jury's finding that these aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances presented by the defendant; and (4) that the defendant's death sentence, taking into consideration the nature of the offense and the defendant himself, is neither excessive nor disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases. We have also independently determined that the defendant should receive two twentyyear sentences for his convictions for attempted first degree murder and aggravated arson and that these sentences should be served consecutively with each other and with the defendant's death sentence. In all other respects, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals, as modified by this opinion. Accordingly, we affirm Mr. Hester's convictions and the imposition of a sentence of death.