State of Tennessee v. Tracy Lynn Harris
W2020-01564-CCA-R3-CD
| Tenn. Crim. App. | Jul 23, 2021Background
- In March 2000, Tracy Lynn Harris pleaded guilty (pursuant to a written plea agreement) to first-degree murder during the perpetration of a felony and to aggravated rape; he received a negotiated sentence of life without parole and a concurrent 20-year term. The State had filed notice it intended to seek the death penalty prior to the plea.
- Harris did not file a direct appeal and, over the following two decades, repeatedly challenged his convictions and pleas in state and federal courts; those challenges were consistently denied.
- Earlier proceedings produced collateral rulings (including that one conviction was void and that an amendment imposing lifetime supervision was harmless given the life-without-parole sentence), but Harris’s core sentence remained intact.
- On April 6, 2021, Harris filed a pro se Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1 motion to correct an illegal sentence, arguing that his life-without-parole sentence is illegal under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-211 because it lacks an expiration and is therefore void.
- The trial court summarily dismissed the motion as failing to state a colorable claim; the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed, holding the life-without-parole sentence was authorized by then-applicable law and is not illegal or void.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether a negotiated life sentence without parole is an illegal/void sentence under Tenn. R. Crim. P. 36.1 and Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-211 | Harris: life without parole is illegal because § 40-35-211 requires determinate sentences with expirations; a life term lacking expiration is void | State: statutes in effect at the time authorized life without parole for first-degree murder; § 40-35-211 contemplates a sentence of “life” and does not render the sentence illegal | Court: held sentence is lawful; life without parole was authorized and not illegal or void; affirmed summary denial |
Key Cases Cited
- Ward v. State, 315 S.W.3d 461 (Tenn. 2010) (holding that amending a judgment to add lifetime supervision was harmless where defendant served life without parole)