State of Tennessee v. Carolyn Strickland

The Petitioner, Carolyn Strickland, appeals the order of the Jackson County Criminal Court dismissing her petition for post-conviction relief. In her sole issue on appeal, Petitioner argues she was incompetent to stand trial due to the medication she was taking during the trial and was, therefore , denied her right to due process and a fair trial. Petitioner was convicted of first degree murder and received a sentence of life imprisonment in the Jackson County Criminal Court. The conviction was affirmed on appeal. State v. Carolyn Strickland, No. 01C01-9212-CR-00390, Jackson County (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, March 23, 1995), perm. to appeal denied, (Tenn. 1995). Following the denial of her permission to appeal, she filed a petition for post-conviction relief. In post-conviction proceedings, the pe titioner bears the burden of proving the allegations raised in the petition by clear and convincing evidence. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-30-210(f). Moreover, the trial court’s findings of fact are conclusive on appeal unless the evidence preponderates against the judgment. Tidwell v. State, 922 S.W.2d 497, 500 (Tenn. 1996); Campbell v. State, 904 S.W.2d 594, 596 (Tenn. 1995); Cooper v. State, 849 S.W.2d 744, 746 (Tenn. 1993). As the evidence does not preponderate against the findings of the trial court, we affirm the trial court’s dismissal of the petition.