State of Tennessee v. Christopher Michael Ferrell

The Defendant, Christopher Michael Ferrell, was convicted by a jury of second degree murder, a Class A felony.  See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-210.  The trial court imposed a sentence of twenty years’ incarceration to be served at one hundred percent.  In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends (1) that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction, specifically arguing that he should have been acquitted for acting in self-defense or convicted instead of voluntary manslaughter; (2) that the trial court erred in denying his request for a special jury instruction regarding the State’s failure to preserve evidence; (3) that the trial court committed several errors when instructing the jury on self-defense; (4) that the trial court abused its discretion in setting the length of his sentence; and (5) that he is entitled to a new trial based upon cumulative error.  Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.