A man on Tennessee’s Death Row for killing a St. Elmo woman in 1983 has asked the state Supreme Court to halt his execution and change his sentence, saying his crime does not warrant being executed.
In a motion filed in Nashville, Edward Jerome Harbison says his death sentence is “disproportionate to the punishment imposed on others convicted of the same crime.”
“He stands alone in facing the death penalty based only on the concurrent commission of a property crime,” the motion states.
After being arrested, Harbison admitted killing Edith Russell when she walked in on him and an accomplice as they ransacked her home at 113 Ochs Highway.
Authorities said Harbison “panicked,” hitting Russell so hard over the head with a marble vase that blood and brain matter splattered the walls.
On July 26, the state filed a motion to reset his execution date. Harbison had until Tuesday to file a response to the new execution date.