On December 3, it will have been 19 years sincethe body of 26-year-old Lisa Gail Stephenson was found inside her car in theBruner’s Grove community of Cocke County.

Two men, including her husband, Jonathan WesleyStephenson, of Talbot, were convicted in 1990 in connection with the shootingdeath of the Hamblen County woman, whom prosecutors allege was lured to ruralCocke County in what they described as a “murder for hire.” In the nearly twodecades of legal proceedings which have followed, Jonathan Stephenson wassentenced to death in 1990, had the sentence overturned in 1994 by theTennessee Supreme Court, was sentenced to death a second time in 2002, and sawthe second death penalty upheld in 2006 by a 4-1 vote of the Tennessee SupremeCourt.

As the sentence currently stands, the 45-year-olddefendant is facing death by lethal injection for first-degree murder. After asecond Cocke County criminal court jury levied the death penalty on the murdercharge at the close of a re-sentencing hearing in October 2002, Judge Hooper handeddown a consecutive sentence of 60 years on the conspiracy conviction.

On Monday, attorneys from the Nashville-based TennesseeOffice of the Post-Conviction Defender asked Cocke County Circuit Judge Ben W.Hooper II to throw out the death penalty again, grant the defendant a thirdsentencing hearing, and to prohibit the state from seeking a death sentence.

If the motion is granted and the death sentencethrown out, Stephenson, who has been in custody for close to two decades sincethe shooting death of his wife, would certainly see a reduction in the amountof prison time he would be required to serve and might be eligible for parolein a relatively short period of time.

State Post-Conviction Defender Donald E. Dawsonand Assistant Defender Daniel E. Kirsch presented their motion to Judge Hooperin court on Monday. The attorneys are asking the court to set aside the deathpenalty in the case, to grant a new sentencing hearing in the case, and/or to issuean order adhering strictly to the terms of Stephenson’s 60-year plea-bargainwith no new hearing and no consideration of the death penalty, an actionlegally called “specific performance.”

“No evidence shows that the death sentence [inStephenson’s case] is based on reason instead of caprice or emotion,” thepost-conviction defenders argue in a 45-page motion for summary judgment filedon July 24 in criminal court. “In fact, the evidence shows that emotion was preciselythe reason. The parties specifically structured the plea agreement to providefor an appropriate prison sentence in the event that a future court deemed [hisinitial] life-without-parole sentence illegal.

“Stephenson’s death sentence is arbitrary andviolates the United States and Tennessee constitutions,” the motion continues. “Thiscourt should grant Stephenson a new sentencing hearing and enjoin the statefrom seeking a death sentence or, in the alternative, grant Stephenson specificperformance of his plea agreement.”

Judge Hooper heard arguments on Monday concerningwhether he has the legal authority to rule in favor of the defendant withoutholding a full hearing on the defendant’s contention that there are “no disputedfacts” in the case and whether a motion for summary judgment is the proper wayto deal with the defenders’ legal requests in the case.

“After current reflection on all of this,…thiscase is a challenge from a legal standpoint,” Judge Hooper said after afour-hour hearing on Monday. “And rather than take this motion under advisement,the court is going to rule that it is not a proper procedure under Tennesseelaw. Approaching this as part of a post-conviction case, to me, will eliminatea lot of problems.”

The judge set a hearing for June 4 and 5, 2009,on the defendant’s motion and other issues. If necessary, a full evidentiary sentencinghearing will be held on June 8, 9, 10, and 11.

Stephenson was first convicted in a jury trialin 1990 of killing his wife in December 1989. Co-defendant Ralph Thompson receiveda sentence of life in prison after a separate jury trial in Cocke Countycriminal court.

Stephenson was convicted in connection with theshooting death of Lisa Stephenson in an isolated section of the Bruner’s Grovecommunity on December 3, 1989. According to testimony during the trials of the case,the victim died as a result of a single gunshot wound to the head in what then-DistrictAttorney General Al Schmutzer called “a murder for hire.”

Evidence at the scene suggested that thevehicle had been parked there for some time. Water had frozen around the fronttires of the car, and the victim had not been seen since about 9:30 theprevious night. Her two children were left alone in the family’s mobile homeuntil they were discovered by A.J. Saylor, the victim’s father, according totestimony during previous hearings in the case.

Jonathan Stephenson was convicted of recruitingThompson with the promise of a truck, a boat, and a motor to come with him toCocke County and kill Lisa Stephenson after luring the victim to the Bruner’sGrove community to receive some money Stephenson was supposedly owed.

Although prosecution testimony indicated thatthe defendants came to Cocke County together, there was conflicting testimonyas to which man actually fired the fatal shot. Each man accused the other ofpulling the trigger.

The Tennessee Supreme Court overturnedStephenson’s first death sentence in 1994 because jurors were given incorrectwritten instructions for their verdict. The justices found “a fundamental error”in the jury instructions and sent the case back to Cocke County Circuit Courtfor a retrial.

On the eve of that retrial, Stephenson reacheda plea-bargain with prosecutors which called for a sentence of life withoutparole consecutive to the 60-year sentence on a conviction for conspiracy tocommit first-degree murder.

Stephenson later appealed that sentence, andthe Tennessee Supreme Court reversed the sentence and again sent the case backto the trial court for further proceedings. The appeals court held that Stephensonwas given an illegal sentence because a term of life without parole was not anoption when the crime was committed in 1989.

In their motion before Judge Hooper, defenseattorneys Dawson and Kirsch allege that the state “breached its agreement” withStephenson by structuring the plea-bargain so that the defendant will have tospend the remainder of his life in prison, even if the death penalty was lateroverturned by an appeals court.

District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn said onMonday that the state’s position is that there was no longer an agreement betweenthe state and the defendant after the supreme court overturned the deathpenalty the first time, so there was no agreement to be “breached” by eitherparty. That is likely to be an issue during upcoming hearings in the case.

The post-conviction defenders also allege thatStephenson received “ineffective assistance of counsel” because his defenseattorneys allegedly did not insist that the state be required to follow eachspecific provision of the plea agreement; did not more vigorously challenge thecircumstances under which authorities obtained a statement from Stephenson,which was ultimately a key piece of evidence in the case; and failed to objectto the state’s alleged “arbitrary” insistence on the death penalty.

The defense attorneys also claim the state was “vindictive”in its prosecution of Stephenson because the defendant insisted on exercisinghis legal rights and that the court was “complicit” in that action.

“In this case, the state breached its agreementwhen it re-instituted its quest for a death sentence; the state had previouslyagreed [in 1994] that Mr. Stephenson would no longer be exposed to a potentialdeath sentence,” according to the defense motion.

“In exchange, the state received admissions ofguilt on both crimes, a greater sentence than the law would otherwise allow forthe conspiracy charge, consecutive prison sentences ensuring that Stephensonwould spend the rest of his natural life in prison, and resolution of the casefor the victim’s family.

“Although Stephenson challenged the legality ofhis life-without-parole sentence and was ultimately successful, the state continuedto enjoy the benefits of the agreement,” the document continues. “Stephensonhad no choice but to endure a second sentencing trial and plead to the jury tospare his life. He was unsuccessful.”