MEMPHIS — A new trial has begun for a man whose double murder conviction was overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
The Commercial Appeal reported that opening statements were given Tuesday as the retrial began for Henry Lee Jones, who has been on death row in Tennessee since his 2009 convictions in the slayings of 82-year-old Clarence James and his wife, 67-year-old Lillian James. They were found stabbed, bound and strangled in their home in the Memphis suburb of Bartlett on August 22, 2003.
Tennessee's Supreme Court ordered a new trial in the case last year, ruling that the lower court "committed prejudicial error" by admitting evidence that Jones had killed another person in Florida.
Jones said he would serve as his own attorney during the proceedings.