I’m always amazed at the lightning-fast sentencings in some states. Juries in Tennessee recommend sentences in capital cases, so the jury that convicted a former NFL scout of poisoning his girlfriend and unborn child considered his punishment for first-degree murder shortly after convicting him of two counts. They recommended Blaise Allen Taylor, 30, be sentenced to life in prison, and Judge Steve Dozier in Davidson County Criminal Court in Nashville followed the recommendation. Before the jury deliberated, Taylor declined to speak or otherwise testify. The jury also convicted Taylor of two counts of second-degree murder, but Tennessee law doesn’t allow for juries to consider sentences for non-capital crimes, so Judge Dozier will sentence on those convictions on Sept. 9. Six states leave sentencing on all crimes up to juries: Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia. Taylor was employed as a defensive analyst for the University of Utah football team when he called 911 in Tennessee on Feb. 25, 2023, and said his girlfriend, 24-year-old Jade Benning, who was five months pregnant, was suffering an allergic reaction in her Nashville apartment. Benning died at a hospital on March 6, 2023, which was her 25th birthday. Prosecutor alleged Taylor put a lethal amount of cocaine in Benning’s lemonade because he didn’t want to have a child with her. His defense was that Benning had a history of drug and her cocaine overdose was self inflicted. Jurors deliberated three hours on Wednesday (July 1) before convicting Taylor of all counts: 1. Second-degree murder of Benning 2. First-degree felony murder of Benning 3. First-degree murder of the unborn child 4. First-degree felony murder of the unborn child You can watch the verdict being published here @Meghann Cuniff. #law #court - @meghannmcuniff