Tennessee Supreme Court Abolishes Court Rule Requiring Corroboration of Accomplice Testimony

Nashville, Tenn. (TN Tribune)-The Tennessee Supreme Court has abolished a common law rule that required testimony of a criminal defendant’s accomplice to be supported by other evidence.  The Court’s opinion abolished the accomplice-corroboration rule prospectively, which means only in future cases.  As part of that decision, the Court upheld the first-degree premeditated murder convictions of Mr. Tony Thomas, but overturned the first-degree premeditated murder convictions of Ms. Laronda Turner. Three individuals, Mr. Thomas, Ms. Turner, and Mr. Demarco Hawkins, were charged with murder months after Mr. Anthony Isom, Ms. Chastity Springfield, and Mr. Michael Glover were murdered in Mr. Isom’s Memphis home in September of 2015.& Mr. Hawkins confessed to participating in the murders. & As an accomplice to the murders, Mr. Hawkins eventually testified against Mr. Thomas and Ms. Turner at trial.& All three defendants, and two of the three victims (except Ms. Springfield), were members of the Vicelords, one of the oldest and largest street gangs in the United States. Following a jury trial, both Mr. Thomas and Ms. Turner were convicted of three counts of first-degree premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison on each count.& All convictions were affirmed by the Court of Criminal Appeals,...