State of Tennessee v. Billy Hill

The Defendant, Billy Hill, was convicted by a Knox County Criminal Court jury of second degree murder, a Class X felony, for the 1986 killing of his mother. See T.C.A. § 39-2-211 (1986) (repealed 1989). The trial court sentenced the Defendant to twenty-four years‘ confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the trial court erred by denying his motions to dismiss based upon lost and destroyed evidence, a due process violation created by the extensive pre-indictment delay, and a violation of his right to a speedy trial, (2) the trial court erred by allowing improper witness testimony, (3) the trial court erred by denying his motion for a mistrial after a witness violated a court order prohibiting testimony about the Defendant‘s alleged violent conduct against the witness, (4) the trial court erred by refusing to provide a jury instruction relative to the State‘s obligation to corroborate his statements, and (5) the prosecutor engaged in misconduct during closing argument. We have also considered whether the statute of limitations for second degree murder had expired before the commencement of the prosecution. Although we affirm the Defendant‘s conviction, we remand for the entry of a corrected judgment reflecting the proper felony classification for second degree murder at the time of the offense.