NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A judge has ruled a death row inmate nearing execution hasn’t proven a juror was prejudiced against him when she helped sentence him to death decades ago.
Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole in a Tuesday ruling cited procedural grounds in declining to reopen 53-year-old Lee Hall’s case. Poole wrote that Hall wouldn’t be entitled to relief on the juror bias claim even if he could consider it.
Hall’s attorneys contend he was deprived of constitutional rights because the juror acknowledged she had failed to disclose during jury selection nearly 26 years ago that she had been raped and abused by her ex-husband.
Poole wrote the juror was then in a happy, fulfilling marriage that helped her overcome feelings about her previous marriage.
Hall’s scheduled execution is Dec. 5.