Tennessee Court Hears Appeal Over Juror Tie to Sheriff's Office and Voluntariness of Blankenship Confession

Charles Blankenship, convicted Feb. 16, 2023, of possession of methamphetamine greater than 300 grams and possession of a weapon as a convicted felon, urged an appellate panel to order a new trial or suppress his confession, arguing juror bias and that his statement to police was involuntary.

The appeal centers on two principal claims: that juror Nicholas Harrell failed to disclose a relationship to a law-enforcement supervisor who later supervised two of the state's witnesses, and that a statement Blankenship made to officers was induced by an implied promise that his son would not be charged. The issues, defense counsel Robert White told the court, undercut both the impartiality of the jury and the voluntariness of the defendant's admissions.

At oral argument White, attorney for the appellant, described the events leading to the prosecution. He said Monroe County deputies executed a search warrant at property where Blankenship lived and discovered methamphetamine and a firearm in barrels near a treeline. White told the court Blankenship's adult son, described at argument as having mental disabilities, fled…