06/03/96 State Tennessee V. Richard Odom

In this capital case, the defendant, Richard Odom, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of first-degree murder committed in the perpetration of rape. *fn1 At the sentencing hearing, the jury found three aggravating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt: (1) the defendant had been previously convicted of one or more violent felonies; (2) the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel; and (3) the murder was committed  during the defendant's escape from lawful custody or from a place of lawful confinement. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-204 (i)(2), (5), and (8). The jury found the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt and sentenced the defendant to death by electrocution. We address five issues: