State of Tennessee v. Edward L. Hood Jr.

The Defendant-Appellant, Edward L. Hood, Jr., was convicted by a Henderson County Circuit Court jury of two counts of rape of a child, a Class A felony, and two counts of incest, a Class C felony. He received consecutive sentences of twenty-three years and twenty-five years for the rape of a child convictions, and concurrent five-year sentences for each of the incest convictions, for an effective sentence of forty-eight years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, Hood argues: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; (2) his right to a fair trial was violated when trial counsel announced that Hood was pleading guilty at the start of trial; (3) the trial court erred in preventing the victim’s sister from testifying for the defense at trial; and (4) the trial court erred by failing to grant a new trial on the basis of newly discovered evidence. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.