NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Supreme Court on Tuesday approved a Feb. 15, 2011 execution date for a Hamilton County man convicted in the 1983 murder of a 62-year-old St. Elmo woman.
The court rejected efforts by Edward Jerome Harbison to change his first-degree murder sentence from death to life imprisonment, saying it has no authority to do so “at this stage of the proceeding.”
Moreover, the court stated, “after also carefully considering Mr. Harbison’s request for a certificate of commutation in accordance with [state law], we have determined that none of the reasons advanced by Mr. Harbison demonstrate the sort of extenuating circumstances that would prompt us to issue a certificate of commutation.”
After his arrest, Harbison admitted killing Edith Russell when she walked in on him and his accomplice as they ransacked her home at 113 Ochs Highway. Authorities said Harbison “panicked” and struck Russell with a marble vase.