Pervis Payne has maintained his innocence for more than 30 years. Yet, despite having no prior criminal record and living with an intellectual disability, he is set to be executed in Tennessee on Dec. 3, 2020.
Last December, Payne’s attorneys found hidden evidence that has never been tested for DNA. And today, the Innocence Project joined Kelley Henry’s team at the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Nashville and the Milbank firm in filing a legal petition for DNA testing of newly discovered evidence in Payne’s case that could help prove his innocence.
Payne was waiting for his girlfriend to return to her apartment in Millington, Tennessee, one afternoon in June 1987, when he discovered that her neighbor, Charisse Christopher, and her children had been brutally attacked. Payne, who lives with an intellectual disability, was shocked by the bloody scene.
Despite his panic, he tried to help, but as soon as he saw the police arriving, he had a sinking feeling that he would be mistaken for the attacker. His fear soon became reality. Payne was arrested later that day, and the following February was convicted of murder and sentenced to death . More than three decades later, he is still on death row.
Pervis Payne, age 7. Photo courtesy of the Payne family.
Here’s what you need to know about his case — including how the prosecution exploited Payne’s intellectual disability, hid evidence, and evoked racist stereotypes to convict him.
1. Newly discovered evidence — bloodstained bedding — has never been tested for DNA and could prove Payne’s innocence. For 33 years, Payne has consistently said he did not commit this crime and that he was an innocent bystander who happened upon the crime scene and tried to help. The presence of another person’s DNA on the bloodied comforter, bedsheets, and pillow, would support what Payne has been saying all along.
2. The prosecution hid this important evidence. The evidence was only discovered last year as part of Henry’s team’s re-investigation into Payne’s case. The evidence contains blood which may belong to the perpetrator and can be tested against existing DNA databases and could help identify the actual perpetrator of the crime, which could prove Payne’s innocence.
3. The evidence contradicts the prosecution’s theory about the crime. The State argued that the crime took place exclusively in the kitchen, where Payne found the victim. But that doesn’t explain why the victim’s bedding is extensively bloodstained.
4. Payne had no motive to commit such a crime. Payne, who lives with an intellectual disability, is described by those who know him as kind and respectful. He loved to make his sisters and mother laugh and helped his father out at his church in any way he could. In the absence of a clear motive, the prosecution argued that Payne had taken drugs, looked at a Playboy magazine, and was looking for sex when he approached the victim. They argued that he attacked her after she rejected him. But there is no evidence that Payne had used drugs that day and he did not have a history of drug use, nor a criminal record.
The Payne family: Carl, Bernice, Rolanda, Pervis, Tyrasha. Photo courtesy of the Payne family.
5. The prosecution employed racial stereotypes to portray Payne, a Black man, as a hypersexual and violent drug user, who attacked a white woman. Shelby County, where Payne’s trial took place, is among the 25 counties with the most recorded lynchings between 1877 and 1950 in the United States. The county’s history is deeply rooted in slavery and deals with its legacy to this day. Knowing this, the prosecution repeatedly highlighted the victim’s “white skin” when referring to parts of her body during the trial, while painting a portrait of Payne as a drug-using, aggressive, hypersexual Black man.
Similar stereotypes have historically been used to falsely accuse or wrongfully convict Black men, like Emmett Till and the “Scottsboro Boys” of raping white women.
6. The use of racial stereotypes is known to contribute to wrongful conviction and sentencing. Innocent Black people are seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder than innocent white people, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Studies have found that the victim’s race also influences the likelihood of the death sentence being applied. Nearly 300 Black people accused of murdering white people have been executed since 1976 — approximately 14 times more than the number of white people executed for murdering white people — the Death Penalty Information Center reported.
7. Payne lives with an intellectual disability, which means it is unconstitutional to execute him. Growing up Payne struggled in school and, despite his best efforts, was not able to graduate. His teachers say he put in a lot of effort, but had difficulty learning to read, spell, and do math. Payne’s family say he is not able to follow complicated instructions, including driving to new places. Growing up, he had trouble with chores like cooking and doing laundry, and needed help feeding himself until he was 5.
Because of his disability, Payne was not able to fully participate in his defense and was not a strong witness on his own behalf. At the time of his trial, Payne’s disability was not recognized, but doctors have since confirmed through testing that Payne has an intellectual disability.
Elder Carl Payne and Pervis Payne (16); Photo Courtesy of Rolanda Payne Holman.
8. There are other suspects. The victim’s ex-husband had a history of abusive behavior, including physically, mentally, and emotionally abusing the victim during their marriage. At the time, investigators excluded him as a suspect because he was serving a sentence for aggravated assault at Fort Pillow State Penitentiary, a minimum security prison, at the time of the murders. However, an employee of the prison has since admitted that it was common for minimum security inmates to leave the prison during the day without repercussions, meaning it would have been possible for him to visit the victim and potentially perpetrate the crime while serving his sentence.
Additionally, a man was seen running from the crime scene shortly before Payne discovered Christopher in her apartment. Both Payne and another eyewitness also saw this man.
The request for DNA testing of the new evidence has now been filed, but here’s how you can help Pervis and his family fight for justice:
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Dani Selby | Radio Free (2020-07-22T15:44:03+00:00) 8 Things You Need to Know About Pervis Payne Who Is Facing Execution. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2020/07/22/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-pervis-payne-who-is-facing-execution/
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