Federal Appeals Court Overturns Death Sentence of Clarksville Man - TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Aug 4, 2022

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned the death sentence of Clarksville man William Glenn Rogers, the Tennessean reports. Rogers, who was sentenced to death for the 1996 rape and murder of a nine-year-old Clarksville girl, raised claims of possible ineffective assistance of counsel and questions regarding the sufficiency of evidence against him. Judges Karen Nelson Moore and Jane Branstetter Stranch and Senior Judge Helene N. White heard the case. Moore wrote in the majority opinion that Rogers's counsel during the sentencing phase "makes us doubt whether this phase of trial produced a fair result." The opinion did not rule on innocence or guilt, but leaves the door open for the trial court to review claims of ineffective assistance on Rogers's motion for a new trial after his initial conviction.