Knox slaying case sets legal precedent in Tennessee
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The Tennessee Supreme Court has used a Knox County murder case to rule that an autopsy report can serve as evidence in a trial, even when the report’s author isn’t available to testify.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports Thomas Lee Hutchison was accused in the 2002 killing of 18-year-old Gary Lindsey.
Dr. Sandra Elkins performed the autopsy of Lindsey but was forced to step down before the trial, leaving prosecutors with an autopsy report but no witness to testify on it. Ultimately, Elkins’ successor as medical examiner testified on the report.
The prosecution and defense disagreed on whether this violated the Confrontation Clause.
The state Supreme Court sided with the prosecution. Justice Holly Kirby wrote that an autopsy report does not itself accuse a particular defendant of murder, but documents that a killing took place.
