State of Tennessee v. Charles Rice - Concurring and Dissenting

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE
AT JACKSON
November 8, 2005 Session
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CHARLES RICE
Automatic Appeal from the Court of Criminal Appeals
Circuit Court for Shelby County
No. 01-00035 Joseph B. Dailey, Judge
No. W2002-00471-SC-DDT-DD - Filed February 22, 2006
ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, JR., J., concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur in the conclusion of the majority that Rice’s convictions should be affirmed. As to the
sentence of death, however, I respectfully dissent. I continue to adhere to my view 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. See State
v. Reid, 164 S.W.3d 286, 323-325 (Tenn. 2005)(Birch, J., concurring and dissenting), and cases cited
therein. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent from that portion of the majority opinion affirming the
imposition of the death penalty in this case.
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ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, JR.