State of Tennessee v. Royce Scott Earley

The Defendant, Royce Scott Earley, confessed to multiple acts of rape against his eightyear-
old daughter, and a jury subsequently convicted him of two counts of rape of a child
(counts one and three), two counts of incest (counts two and four), and one count of
aggravated sexual battery (count five), for which he received an effective sentence of 104
years in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant raises three issues for our review: (1)
whether the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his confession because it
was not voluntary; (2) whether the State introduced sufficient evidence to corroborate his
confession for counts three through five under the modified trustworthiness standard
outlined in State v. Bishop, 431 S.W.3d 22 (Tenn. 2014); and (3) whether the trial court
imposed an excessive sentence.1 After review, we affirm.