STATE OF TENNESSEE v. WILLIAM GOSSETT - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. WILLIAM GOSSETT

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on May 20, 2021

Head Comment: WITT filed a concurring opinion.

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Joseph McClusky, Memphis, Tennessee (on appeal); Gerald Green, Memphis, Tennessee (at trial), for the appellant, William Gossett.

Attorneys 2: Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Andrew C. Coulam, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Amy P. Weirich, District Attorney General; and Dru Carpenter, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): EASTER

Defendant, William Gossett, was charged in twelve separate indictments with 26 offenses, including multiple counts of aggravated rape, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, employment of a firearm, and theft of property. Defendant pleaded guilty to all 26 counts, with the trial court to determine his sentencing. Following a sentencing hearing, Defendant received a total effective sentence of 371 years’ incarceration. The sole issue on appeal is whether the trial court properly treated Defendant’s 1999 juvenile adjudications for rape of a child, where there were two victims, as multiple offenses for the purposes of determining Defendant’s offender classification at sentencing. Having reviewed the record and the briefs of the parties, we find no error and affirm the judgments of the trial court.

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