Many of these songs were turned into rap lyrics which were used against my client to convict him of homicide. Not so fast. the case was reversed because of that.. art imitates life.
Tennessee Appeals Court overturns Nashville conviction based on rap lyric evidence
Nashville Tennessean
Merely singing about shooting a sheriff would not convict Bob Marley of murder, no more than writing about burying a man under the floorboards would convict Edgar Allen Poe.
But rapping about "a bloody murder scene, it's killing season," did help convict William Britton of second-degree murder in 2022, attorney David Raybin argued. Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Camille McMullen agreed.
In an opinion filed Tuesday, McMullen overturned Britton's conviction and remanded the case back to a Davidson County courtroom for a new trial after she found evidence — rap lyrics and screen shots of music videos —presented during the trial were highly prejudicial.
"Given the inflammatory nature of the Defendant's rap lyrics/videos, we conclude that their admission raised a significant risk that the jury convicted the Defendant of second degree murder on improper grounds," McMullen wrote in the opinion.
Britton is currently serving 18 years at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center.
A spokesman for the District Attorney's Office said Thursday their office and the Tennessee Attorney General's office are having conversations about appealing the case to the Tennessee Supreme Court, though no decision has been made.
Raybin said he, and his client's family, were overjoyed to get the opinion Tuesday.
"This decision is based on cases from all over the country. It is the correct decision," Raybin said by phone Thursday. "This particular issue has nothing to do with the defendant and it's all about their art. They're being punished for being rappers. First Amendment art cannot be used to convict him."
Raybin said he thinks this case will set a new precedent.
"We set this wonderful precedent here in Music City," he said. "It will have far reaching effects across the state and stop this insidious practice of punishing people for their music. It not only helps this young man but will help other people. It helps move the law forward in a good way."
Nine gunshots on Herman Street
Britton was charged with criminal homicide in May 2020 after 20-year-old Kendall Ostine was gunned down near the intersection of Herman and Blank Streets at the Andrew Jackson Apartments.
Britton, who did not live at the complex, was there with family who did. The group was getting ready to celebrate another family member's release from jail when Ostine came upon them walking down Herman Street, according to testimony.
Britton and his half-brother testified they were sitting on a rock wall when Ostine approached on the opposite side of the road and began instigating a fight. They both testified Ostine used profane language and called them a racial slur.
"The Defendant said the victim then reached for his waistband 'like he had a weapon' which made the Defendant pull out his weapon because he was 'scared,'" the opinion said.
A knife with a red handle was found with Ostine's body.
Britton fired nine rounds. The first a warning shot, he testified, and the rest because Ostine wouldn't stop reaching for his waistband. Ostine suffered seven gunshot wounds to his chest, the front right arm, the back, the right buttock, the left thigh and two shots to the right leg, according to testimony.
Rap lyrics and Britton's intent
Britton supplemented his income by performing as a rapper under the name "Lil Will." He wrote music that glorified gun culture and homicides. All of that was written and recorded before Ostine was killed.
Despite the music being published before the killing, Assistant District Attorney Amy Hunter argued the lyrics spoke to his state of mind.
"Your Honor, the State has evidence…that shows that the Defendant doesn't just carry a gun when he's scared or when it's situational, that this is an event — that killing somebody is something that he's thought a lot about," Hunter said during trial. "He is obsessed with guns. He is obsessed with wanting to use them. He's obsessed with murder scenes. And he's so obsessed with them that he writes songs about them, and he sings about them."
Attorney Caleb Cassell, who represented Britton at trial, staunchly disagreed with Hunter's premise for admitting the lyrics into evidence.
"This is artistic expression," Cassell said. "This junk [is not] real…If this were the case, then what the State's case would be is that [for] every rapper in the history of the world, [the State's] got probable cause to believe that they're going to commit a murder because they all talk about it. That's not probable cause."
Ultimately, Davidson County Judge Mark Fishburn allowed Hunter to cross-examine Britton about the rap lyrics.
When questioned, Britton said, "it's just a song.
"That don't mean that's how I am. That's how I make money, and that's what this youth want to hear about," Britton said.
Hunter, in her closing arguments, again brought up the lyrics.
"Not every single person who's a rap artist is a murderer even if they rap about things like that, but this Defendant is," Hunter said. "And sometimes life imitates art, and sometimes art imitates life."
Ultimately, the jury didn't buy the state's argument of premeditation and instead of finding Britton guilty of frist-degree murder, he was found guilty of the lesser second-degree murder.
Regardless, McMullen found the usage of the rap lyrics improper.
"The trial court abused its discretion in admitting evidence of the Defendant's rap lyrics/videos, and this error was not harmless," McMullen wrote in the opinion.
