State of Tennessee v. Henry Alfred Honea

The Defendant, Henry Alfred Honea, was convicted by a Coffee County Circuit Court jury of first degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder, especially aggravated robbery, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, evading arrest, and being a felon in possession of a handgun. The Defendant received an effective sentence of life without parole plus 153 years, which was to be served consecutively to previous sentences for other convictions. On appeal, the Defendant argues that (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions of especially aggravated robbery, especially aggravated kidnapping, first degree felony murder, and first degree premeditated murder; (2) the trial court erred in admitting expert proof about the rate of decomposition of the victim’s body; (3) he was deprived of due process and a fair trial by the admission of proof of the Defendant’s pending rape charges; (4) the trial court erred in failing to give an alibi instruction; (5) the trial court erred in admitting underlying factual proof about the Defendant’s prior kidnapping convictions at the sentencing hearing; (6) the trial court erred in entering judgments for both first degree felony murder and first degree premeditated murder, then merging the convictions; and (7) he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel when trial counsel failed to call two exculpatory witnesses to testify at the trial. We affirm the especially aggravated robbery, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, evading arrest, and being a felon in possession of a handgun judgments. We vacate the first degree premeditated murder and felony murder judgments and remand the case for entry of one judgment of conviction for first degree murder, noting merger of the two counts of conviction.