NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Attorneys for Tennessee death row inmate Nichols Sutton say he should be spared from execution because he has transformed himself from a killer to a lifesaver while in prison.
Nicholas Sutton was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his grandmother when he was 18 years old in 1979. While at the Morgan County Regional Correctional Facility in 1985, he killed a fellow inmate. He and another man stabbed inmate Carl Estep 38 times. Witnesses said Estep, who was imprisoned for child molestation, had sold the two inmates bad drugs.
Sutton was sentenced to death following Estep's murder.
In a Tuesday petition to Gov. Bill Lee, Sutton's attorneys say he saved the lives of numerous prison employees and fellow inmates. He is scheduled to be executed on Feb. 20.
