Editors note: An initial report stated that Gary Caughron was denied parole. A Tennessee Department of Correction spokesperson later clarified that that Parole Board Chairman Richard Montgomery voted to recommend a denial of parole. Four of the seven board members must vote to approve or deny. Other members have not yet voted.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Chairman of the Tennessee Parole Board has recommended denying parole to man serving a life sentence after the death penalty in a 1987 Sevier County murder case was overturned on appeal.
A parole hearing was held for 61-year-old Gary Caughron on Wednesday.
He was convicted of killing Dorothy Ann Robertson Jones at her Pigeon Forge home in 1987 and sentenced to death in 1990. He was also convicted of burglary and assault with intent to commit rape.
The death penalty was later overturned on appeal after judges ruled that he received ineffective counsel during the sentencing phase of the trial. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Tennessee Parole Board Chairman Richard Montgomery voted to recommend denial of parole due to the seriousness of the offense and recommended another hearing in 2027, a spokesperson said.
The family of Jones urged that parole be denied in WATE interviews. A change.org petition calling for the denial of parole garnered over 1,800 signatures.