Stay ConnectedThere are no witnesses, no fingerprints, and no confession to the 1992 deaths of Tommy Griffin and his sister, Connie Branam in East Tennessee.
There are, however, four alleged and un-investigated alternate suspects, six alibi witnesses, a disgraced medical examiner, a nearly impossible timeline, a bad search warrant, and a man named Gary Sutton sitting on Death Row. Did the state damn the wrong man to die?
Things went terribly, terribly awry when the state of Tennessee attempted to execute Christa Gail Pike on September 30.
It was so bad that Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee cancelled Gary Wayne Sutton's Dec. 3 execution, but there is still so much work to do.
🗣️ Hear from Christa Pike's Attorneys 📃 Documents Referenced in the Episode 📹 Replay the Tennessean's livestream of the post-execution press conference
📰 Christa Pike Execution Timeline at The Tennesseean
✅ Tennesseeans: Register to vote by October 5
🗣️ Colleen Slemmer's Mother Speaks After failed Execution
🏨 Former hotel with notorious past comes down
⏳ Timeline of Events at the Time of Death Podcast Website
🌍 Google Map of Places of Note
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Gary Wayne Sutton's attorneys have formally asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to stay his execution pending the outcome of his intellectual disability claim. Plus, Beth looks at the time period between the Sevier County conviction and the Blount County Trial. ALSO - The Sevier County case files and transcripts are now available on Beth's website.
Episode Links
📜 Gary Sutton's Motion for a Stay of Execution
🎙️ Beth appears on Cup of Justice Podcast
⚖️ Thomas Clardy Story at the Tennessee Innocence Project
⏳ Timeline of Events at the Time of Death Podcast Website
🌍 Google Map of Places of Note
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Did the jury get lost in the weeds when testimony about Gary's headlights dealt a devastating blow to the defense's credibility? Also in this episode, the witnesses used to bolster the state's theory that it was Gary and his uncle, James, beating Tommy Griffin on the side of Alcoa Highway both said they saw a dark colored Chevrolet Camaro. Gary owned a dark colored Camaro, but the witnesses disagreed on a huge detail.
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A man at Howie's Hideaway, and a woman who tracked Gary across Sevier County cause a huge problem with the state's timeline and theory regarding Connie Branam's death. PLUS - a world renowned forensic anthropologist responded to the scene of Connie Branam's burned car. Find out what he could and couldn't discern from the evidence. Beth also explains how she's keeping the witnesses organized in her head and talks a little bit about the next person scheduled for execution in Tennessee.
Episode Links:
📰 Christa Gail Pike Clemency Petition 🦴 Dr. Bill Bass's Website
🦴 The Forensic Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee
⏳ Timeline of Events at the Time of Death Podcast Website
🌍 Google Map of Places of Note
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Changing stories and denials came out as Gary Sutton and James Dellinger's attorneys began cross examining witnesses during the 1993 Sevier County Trial for the death of Connie Branam. But who's telling the truth?
Also - Beth does a deep dive into Dr. Mark Fowler, the physician who oversees executions in Tennessee. It turns out that MD isn't his first career.
Today marks 98 days until Gary Wayne Sutton's December 3 execution.
Episode Links
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The past, present, and future collided for this episode as Anthony Darrell Hines execution came just days after the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that Gary Wayne Sutton's intellectual disability hearing can move forward.
Gary's celebration was short-lived as the Tennessee Attorney General filed another appeal - this time to the state Supreme Court asking for them to vacate the ruling that would allow the intellectual disability hearing to happen as docketed for October 1.
Meanwhile, finally finding a transcript of James Dellinger's February 28, 1992 statement to police shored up some details about what was happening the night of February 22, 1992, at Howie's Hideaway. Plus, trial testimony from the Sevier County trial shows that an officer amended a vandalism report he'd taken at James's house on February 15, 1992, to add a detail that the district attorney used against him at trial.
⛓️ Tennessee's List of Death Row Inmates
📰 A daughter wants her mom remembered as a victim, not just a case, before Tennessee execution
📣 Find Gary and James's February 28, 1992 statements to police
🟠 Tennessee Supreme Court Information
⏳ Timeline of Events at the Time of Death Podcast Website
🌍 Google Map of Places of Note
☕Buy Beth a Coffee
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Find us at www.timeofdeathpod.com
Bill Cogdill, the fourth and final alleged alternate suspect, had some pretty specific details about Connie Branam's crime scene several days before Connie was found burned in her car near Clear Fork in Wears Valley, Tennessee. Plus, hear what a former member of the execution team wrote to Governor Bill Lee about his experience carrying out execution.
Episode Links
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It turns out that not only were Connie Branam and Tommy Griffin supposed to be witnesses in a trial the week before their deaths…they were being subpoenaed as prosecution witnesses, but nobody seems to know why + another Republican lawmaker is calling for a review of the state's lethal injection protocol.
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Who are Bobby Floyd, Eddie Blair, Lester Johnson, and Bill Cogdill? Beth looks into the alternate suspects that, for whatever reason, were mostly ignored during Gary Sutton's homicide trials in Blount and Sevier Counties. Also, get updates on Carolyn Weaver's recent health scares, a group of Republican senators asking Governor Bill Lee to halt executions, and a letter from Gary's attorney to Bill Lee.
Episode Links:
✉️ Read Letter to Governor Bill Lee on Behalf of Gary Sutton
📰 WKRN: Attorneys Seek Reprieve on Behalf of Darrell Hines
✉️ Read Darrell Hines's Letter to Governor Lee
📰 Christa Pike's Attorneys File Motion Challenging Constitutionality of Lethal Injection
📰 GOP Senators Seek Review of Botched Execution
🖋️ Sign the Petition for Tennessee's Governor Bill Lee to review Gary Sutton's case
⏳ Timeline of Events at the Time of Death Podcast Website
🌍 Google Map of Places of Note
☕Buy Beth a Coffee
Stay connected with Beth's reporting and follow along as the stories unfold. Follow us on your favorite platform.
Beth Braden: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok
Time of Death Podcast: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok
Find us at www.timeofdeathpod.com
Stay connected with Beth's reporting and follow along as the stories unfold. Follow us on your favorite platform.
Beth Braden: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok
Time of Death Podcast: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok
Find us at www.timeofdeathpod.com
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