Tennessee Appeals Court Affirms Trial Judge’s Ruling, Citing Prior Felony Convictions
The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has affirmed the conviction and 75-year sentence of Billy Joe Anderson, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
In an opinion delivered on Monday, the court rejected Anderson’s claim that a Florida conviction from 2010 was improperly used to classify him as a Range II multiple offender, which led to a harsher sentence.
During the trial, Anderson’s defense team argued that the Florida charge of aggravated assault, a felony conviction from 2010, should not have been considered for sentencing enhancement in Tennessee because its legal definition differed from the state’s own statutes…