The Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday ruled the state law mandating only the Tennessee Attorney General can handle post-conviction death row cases is constitutional, dealing a blow to Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, who joined a legal effort by a death row inmate that sought to disqualify Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti from his case.
Mulroy became involved in the legal effort after Larry McKay, who was convicted of murder in 1982, asked for a new trial in 2023, when lawmakers changed Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 40-30-114(c) to mandate that Skrmetti’s would office “has exclusive control” over the case, as well as all other death row appeals.
McKay filed a motion claiming that Skrmetti’s role in his case was unconstitutional, and Mulroy joined the motion, arguing that he should be the prosecutor to oppose McKay in the legal proceedings surrounding his death row sentence, and that the state law mandating Skrmetti’s office must handle such matters is unconstitutional.
The high court on Friday released a short, four-page ruling that declined to reverse the majority of the decision by a lower court, finding that it only erred by determining Mulroy did not have a legal standing to challenge the case. A lower court’s ruling, which denied the request to remove Skrmetti and found the changes to the law are constitutional, was upheld.
While the Supreme Court reaffirmed the constitutionality of the law and the attorney general’s purview over death row appeals, Skrmetti previously had to caution the Tennessee District Attorney Generals Conference that its amicus brief in support of Mulroy was illegal, as the attorney general is the only attorney authorized to represent the conference.
According to Nashville Banner, the high court’s decision may have been the final impediment preventing new executions. Tennessee adopted a new lethal injection protocol ahead of the potential resumption in December of last year.
The loss for Mulroy, whose offices handles cases for the City of Memphis, comes as State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) pursues a resolution to remove the district attorney from his position.
Taylor recently held a press conference, when he outlined nine reasons for the removal of Mulroy, ranging from allegations that Mulroy abuses his prosecutorial discretion and selectively enforces laws, to claims the district attorney fails to properly manage his office’s finances or inform victims and their families of upcoming legal proceedings.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “DA Steve Mulroy” by Shelby County and “AG Johnathon Skrmetti” by Tennessee AG Office.
