The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld two death sentences a Davidson County jury imposed on Christopher A. Davis for the 1996 deaths of two men who were bound and shot multiple times as one victim cried and begged for his life.
Davis was sentenced to death for his role in the murders of Gregory Ewing, 18, and D’Angelo Lee, 19, whose bodies were discovered in a remote construction site. The killings occurred after Davis and a co-defendant, Gdongalay Berry , set up a fake transaction for the sale of guns.
In addition to the death sentences for two counts of premeditated first degree murder, Davis received two 25-year sentences for two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, and two 25-year sentences for two counts of especially aggravated robbery. His convictions and sentences were affirmed by the Court of Criminal Appeals, resulting in an automatic appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Justice E. Riley Anderson, writing for the majority, said that issues raised by Davis in his appeal were without merit and that imposition of the death penalty was not “arbitrary or disproportionate.” Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota, III, and Justices William M. Barker and Janice M. Holder concurred in the opinion.
State law requires the court to review every death penalty case to ensure that the sentence is not disproportionate considering the nature of the crime and the defendant. The court uses similar cases for comparison and considers factors such as the means and manner of death, the motivation for the killing, the age of the defendant, and the presence of aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
“The analysis is intended to identify aberrant, arbitrary or capricious sentencing . . . ,” Anderson wrote. “The death sentences imposed on Davis for these offenses are not arbitrary or disproportionate.”
In a separate concurring/dissenting opinion, Justice Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., agreed that Davis’s convictions should be affirmed, but not the sentences of death.
“I continue to adhere to my views expressed in a long line of dissents . . . that the comparative proportionality review protocol currently embraced by the majority is inadequate to shield defendants from the arbitrary and disproportionate imposition of the death penalty,” Birch wrote in his dissent.
The court also concluded that the evidence supported the jury’s finding that statutorily defined aggravating circumstances outweighed mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt. In Davis’s case, the jury found that three aggravating circumstances – that Davis had prior convictions for violent felonies, that the murders were committed to avoid, interfere with or prevent arrest, and that the murders were committed while Davis had a substantial role in committing or attempting to commit a robbery or kidnapping - outweighed mitigating evidence presented during the sentencing hearing.
Davis, who was 18, had arranged a meeting with the two victims “under the guise of buying guns,” Anderson wrote. He and Berry robbed the victims, tied them up, and drove them to Davis ’s apartment. After unloading the stolen guns, Davis and Berry drove the bound men to the construction site where they were murdered.
Davis told authorities he was involved with the Gangster Disciples and had been selling cocaine since he was 13 or 14 years old. He had attended a private school, until being expelled and was once a good student who was listed in “Who’s Who Among American High School Students,” Anderson wrote in the majority opinion.
“ Davis showed no remorse for the offenses or for the deaths of the victims, and he told others that one of the victims had been shot after begging for his life,” Anderson wrote.
The court set a March 15, 2005 , execution date for Davis, who has state and federal appeals remaining.