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Tennessee Supreme Court Hears Appeal Over Alleged False Closing Argument and Lost Evidence in Desmond Ray Case
Summary
At oral argument, defense counsel said prosecutors knowingly misstated facts in closing argument and that the state lost a vehicle central to the defense; the state said most objections were waived and that the record and witnesses support the convictions. The court took the case under submission.
The Tennessee Supreme Court heard oral argument in the appeal of Desmond Ray, who was convicted of multiple counts in a March 2020 killing. Defense counsel Wade Davies told the court that prosecutors made an "intentional misstatement" in closing argument by asserting a six-year-old grandchild was in the bed when one victim was shot, although the defense says the child's forensic interview—placed in the supplemental record—says she was not in the room.
Davies argued the prosecutor "absolutely knew that it was false" and urged the court to reverse, citing State v. Goltz and other precedent that allows an appellate court to consider the argument as a…
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