<p>America is one of only five first world countries to still actively utilize the death penalty as a form of criminal punishment. Over the last century, certain protections have been put in place to protect underage and intellectually disabled offenders. But what happens when a state refuses to accept evidence of an offender’s mental disability? And what if that same offender may be innocent? In this episode, we examine the prosecution of Pervis Tyrone Payne for the 1987 murders of Charisse Christopher and Lacie Jo Christopher and the impending execution of Payne, despite doubts about his intellectual abilities and guilt.</p> <p><strong>If you feel that Pervis Payne’s execution should be stopped, please call the office of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee at (615) 741-2001, you could tweet to him, his twitter username is @GovBillLee, or you can email him through the Tennessee Government website </strong><a href="https://www.tn.gov/governor/contact-us.html"><u><strong>https://www.tn.gov/governor/contact-us.html</strong></u></a><strong>.</strong></p> <p>Our theme music is a remix of “Post-Apocalyptic” by CO.AG music. Support CO.AG on Patreon at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3550597"><u>https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3550597</u></a></p> <p>Listen to Austyn’s other podcast, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hellandhighhorror/"><u>Hell and High Horror</u></a> on Spotify, Apple Music, Stitcher, and Castbox.</p> <p><strong>Episode Sources:</strong></p> <p><a href="https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1336&amp;context=vlr"><u>https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1336&amp;context=vlr</u></a></p> <p><a href="http://tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/docs/state_v._payne_-_m1998-00096-sc-dpe-dd_-_response.pdf"><u>http://tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/docs/state_v._payne_-_m1998-00096-sc-dpe-dd_-_response.pdf</u></a></p> <p><a href="https://murderpedia.org/male.P/p/payne-pervis.htm"><u>https://murderpedia.org/male.P/p/payne-pervis.htm</u></a></p> <p><a href="https://law.jrank.org/pages/23597/Payne-v-Tennessee-Defendant-s-Rights.html"><u>https://law.jrank.org/pages/23597/Payne-v-Tennessee-Defendant-s-Rights.html</u></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/ascii/vfluc.txt"><u>https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/ascii/vfluc.txt</u></a></p> <p><a href="https://core.ac.uk/reader/132196862"><u>https://core.ac.uk/reader/132196862</u></a></p> <p><a href="https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/innocence/executed-but-possibly-innocent#larry_swearingen"><u>https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/innocence/executed-but-possibly-innocent#larry_swearingen</u></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/111/20/7230.full.pdf"><u>https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/111/20/7230.full.pdf</u></a></p>