Court Opinion

ID: 9644856
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 21:06:46.638939+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:11:19.140843
License: Public Domain

GALBREATH, Judge
(concurring).
I concur basically with Judge Russell’s opinion but would substitute the minimum sentence for murder in the first degree for the sentence of death imposed by the unconstitutionally selected jury. Although the Plaintiff in Error does have the unqualified right to have the jury assess his punishment under the mandate given the trial court here, that punishment could in no event be less than twenty years and one day, so the defendant could not possibly benefit from retrial on the issue of punishment.
It could well be that the State would welcome the reduction in sentence rather than incur the considerable expense involved in a retrial. Perhaps not, but under the authorities cited by the majority (Corlew v. State, 181 Tenn. 220, 180 S.W.2d 900, et al.) it would have the election to make on the prosecution level rather than having it made for them by this Court without adequate knowledge of the difficulties, if any, that may be encountered on submitting the necessary proof to another jury.
Of course, it might be that the parties can agree on proper punishment and submit a recommendation acceptable to the court and jury and thus avoid the bulk of any unwanted inconvenience, and with this suggestion I concur in the majority opinion.