Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) requested investigations on Wednesday into Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan and Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy’s Office to determine if they orchestrated the “illegal” release of a Memphis man serving a 162-year prison sentence and the decision to move double murderer off death row.
Taylor is requesting Skahan be investigated by the Tennessee Board of Professional Conduct and Mulroy by the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility over their alleged collaboration to achieve the “illegal” 2022 release of Courtney Anderson, who was serving 162 years, and to vacate the death sentence of Michael Sample, who is convicted of two murders.
In a Wednesday press release, Taylor stated that Skahan and Mulroy worked together to secure Anderson’s release by claiming he received an unjust sentence of 162 years. His release was achieved by reducing his sentence to just 15 years, effectively releasing him with time served.
That decision was overturned by the Tennessee Court of Appeals this year, and Anderson (pictured above) was required to return to prison. Judge J. Ross Dyer wrote in his October 18 opinion that Skahan “illegally” granted clemency for Anderson by essentially commuting his sentence, a power that the state Constitution solely grants to the governor of Tennessee.
Taylor also noted that Sample, a convicted double murderer, successfully had his death sentence vacated by Skahan in May, and Mulroy did not challenge the decision. Though Sample will be eligible for release in 2024, Mulroy told WREG that he would granting oppose parole.
The lawmaker requested Skahan be investigated for her “apparent advocacy of a criminal defendant and her personal bias concerning previous judicial officials,” according to a press release. He also charged Skahan with abusing her power as a judge and ignoring the Tennessee Constitution in the process.
In his Tuesday letter, Taylor wrote that if “Skahan used the power of her office to get a man released from prison knowing she had no such power, then she abused her office, ignored the limitations imposed upon her by the legislature, and thumbed her nose at the Tennessee Constitution and the doctrine of separation of powers.”
Citing the district attorney’s decision not to challenge the decision to move Sample off death row, the first-term lawmaker asked for the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility to investigate whether Mulroy “played a role” in attempting to reduce Anderson’s sentence or commute that of Sample.
Taylor noted in his letter that “Mulroy stated in his own press release” in December 2022 that he was “pleased to have helped in correcting this injustice,” calling it “an illustration of the good that reform prosecutors can do.” Taylor included Mulroy’s press release with his letter requesting the investigations.
Additionally, the legislator highlighted Gerald Skahan, who he said is the judge’s brother, and “was appointed by District Attorney Steve Mulroy to serve as Special Assistant for Post Convictions.” Taylor asked investigators to determine whether this appointment “constitutes a conflict of interest which should have been disclosed by either the trial judge or the district attorney’s office.”
“It appears all parties were in cahoots knowing they would be successful if no one appeals their ‘creative’ actions,” wrote Taylor. “This also raises the question as to whether there was improper ex parte collusion between the Judge and the District Attorney’s office,” declaring the arrangement “definitely has the appearance of impropriety.”
Taylor recently raised similar concerns about Shelby County General Sessions Court Judge Bill Anderson, who let a man accused of murdering a 15-year-old on Thanksgiving Day out of jail without bond. Taylor resurfaced video of Anderson railing against the state’s bond system, and seemingly claiming that Tennessee’s gun laws are responsible for the crime wave in Memphis.
In a letter to the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts, he noted that 18-year-old Edio White was released despite the district attorney requesting a $75,000 bail.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
