MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee death row inmate has made a rare public appearance during a court hearing about claims that he is intellectually disabled and should not be executed for the slayings of a mother and daughter more than 30 years ago.
Pervis Payne listened Friday as lawyers argued in a Memphis courtroom over a request by prosecutors to access prison records as part of Payne’s evaluation by a state expert about claims that he is mentally disabled.
Payne was brought to Memphis from Nashville, where has been held in a high-security prison since his conviction and death sentence for the 1987 stabbing deaths.
