Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III is responding to recent action taken by Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk in Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman v. State, No. 87-W-417 (Davidson County. Criminal Court).
In a letter sent to General Funk, General Slatery says the state will not appeal the recent modification of Mr.
Abdur’Rahman’s sentence. However, AG Slatery writes, “This decision . . . should not be taken by you or anyone else as tacit approval of the order obtained or the position you have taken.”
In 2019, General Funk obtained an agreed order modifying Mr. Abdur’Rahman’s death sentence to life imprisonment. AG Slattery said, "This modification violated the law, and the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office appealed. The Court of Criminal Appeals vacated the agreed order and remanded the case for further proceedings.
"Last month, General Funk obtained a new order that resulted in a modification of Mr. Abdur’Rahman’s death sentence to life imprisonment."
Referring to the new order, General Slatery said it violates the law in several ways, including that the underlying juror-discrimination claim had already been rejected by several courts, including the Tennessee Supreme Court. General Slatery also warned that procedures employed to frustrate the appellate process will not be tolerated and are no barrier to an appeal.
To read the letter, click here: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/pr/2021/pr21-49-letter.pdf