State v. Warren Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, No. E2008-01135-CCA-R3-CD – Filed December 1, 2009
The case begins as a battered-girlfriend-kills-boyfriend situation:
The Defendant testified that on the day of the shooting, she had gone to the doctor for a
checkup following treatment she had received for a tubal pregnancy.She said that she returned home about 4:00 p.m. and that she drank some wine but did not take illegal drugs. She said that the victim was already at home and that he was drinking beer. She said that they left to go pick up the victim’s paycheck, that they stopped at the dollar store, and that the victim remained in the car while she went inside.
She said she observed a man she knew as a crack dealer talking to the victim, although she did not see an exchange. She said they returned home about 6:00 p.m. and smoked crack. She said that a friend of hers called wanting to buy marijuana and that the victim left to purchase some for the friend. She said that the victim called her to tell her he was on his way home and that when he did not return immediately, she called her sister to see if the victim was there, which he was. She said that when the victim returned home, they fought but that she could not remember about what.
She said that the victim ordered her to leave and that as she took some belongings to her car, the victim grabbed her by the hair. She said that the victim released her and pushed her from behind as she walked out the door and that her belongings spilled onto the ground.
When asked what she was thinking at that moment, she replied, “I was mad and sad and just tired.” She said that she walked into the house and that she could barely remember going to the gun cabinet and grabbing the gun. She said she thought she grabbed shotgun shells. She recalled walking into the bathroom and closing the gun. She said the next thing she remembered was watching the victim fall backwards.
…and then a little judicial misconduct gets thrown in:
On July 28, 2008, there appeared in the Maryville Daily Times a letter to the Editor from Lori Barnes, the sister of the deceased. This letter praised the conduct of the trial court in sentencing the defendant
to the maximum sentence. The letter also stated Ms. Barnes[’s] intention [for] her family to vote for and [to] support . . . the trial judge in the upcoming election to be conducted on August 7, 2008.Also appearing in the July 28 edition of the Maryville Daily Times was another letter of support for the trial judge by another victim of a homicide case. Both of these cases had been prosecuted by Ms. Tammy Harrington, Assistant District Attorney for Blount County Tennessee. Ms. Harrington was concerned that the Barnes family might be upset with the manner in which her office prosecuted this murder.
As a result, Ms. Harrington called Ms. Barnes about the July 28 letter. During the course of this conversation, Ms. Barnes revealed that the trial court had contacted her by phone. The trial court had inquired if the family was satisfied with the sentence and if so, would the family write a letter in support [of] the trial judge’s upcoming election. The trial court also inquired if she was a registered voter. Ms. Harrington disclosed this information to defense counsel.
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