In 2012, it took a jury only a few hours to reach a verdict in the Tina Stewart murder trial. Stewart was the MTSU Lady Raider basketball player who was killed by her roommate Shanterrica Madden in 2011...
That was Circuit Court Judge Don Ash reading the jury's verdict against Madden in 2012.
Madden, who was sentenced to serve 29-years behind bars, later filed an appeal suggesting that Judge Ash should have recused himself because of his ties to MTSU and he was reportedly FaceBook friends with MTSU Lady Raider Coach Rick Insell. Madden also suggested that her sentence was excessive.
In 2014 Judge John Everett Williams denied an appeal from moving forward.
In March of 2016, Madden again challenged the courts. She alleged that she received ineffective assistance of counsel, that the evidence was insufficient to support her second degree murder conviction, and that she was denied due process based on impartial treatment towards the defense and improper juror questions.
On March 30, 2016, the post-conviction court found Madden presented a plausible claim. The courts went as far as appointing a post-conviction counsel, and ordered the State to file a response. But, 19 days later the state filed a motion to dismiss the petition due to it being filed outside of the statute of limitations.
The appeals court heard more in regards to the Madden case in April of 2017. Despite briefs assigned just four months ago, the courts agreed that Madden had adequate resources and documentation available to determine the correct deadline for filing her post-conviction petition.
According to the Court of Criminal Appeals filings on Thursday (7/6/17), Madden has once again been turned down from her appeal moving forward.
Madden will be eligible for parole in year 2036 and her sentence ends in 2038. She will be 46 years old when the sentence is over. The woman is currently being held at the West Tennessee State Penitentiary.
Obituary for Tina Stewart: https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=66665750
Source:
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee at Nashville
Original Case No. 66473
No. M2012-02473-CCA-R3-CD - Filed March 11, 2014
No. 66473 No. M2012-02473-CCA-R3-CD - Filed March 11, 2014
No. M2016-01396-CCA-R3-PC - Assigned on Briefs April 19, 2017 and filed by courts 7/6/17
