Pervis Tyrone Payne v. Tennessee
501 U.S. 808 · Decided June 27, 1991 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Pervis Tyrone Payne v. Tennessee was decided on June 27, 1991 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty” in the Criminal Procedure area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 501 U.S. 808 · 111 S. Ct. 2597 · 115 L. Ed. 2d 720 · 1991 U.S. LEXIS 3821
- Docket number
- 90-5721
- Decided
- June 27, 1991
- Argued
- April 24, 1991
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Altered precedent
- Yes — formally altered the Court's precedent
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Byron R. White | Concurrence | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Concurrence | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Pervis Tyrone Payne v. Tennessee
SCDB identifiers: case 1990-125, docket 1990-125-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Cruel and unusual punishment, death penalty”
- Bryan Stuart Lankford v. Idaho
- Robert Lacy Parker v. Richard L. Dugger
- In re James Blodgett
- Robert Lee Shell v. Mississippi
- James Gomez and Daniel Vasquez v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California
- Dennis Sochor v. Florida
Cases on the same legal provision: Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)
- Ronald Allen Harmelin v. Michigan
- Pearly L. Wilson v. Richard Seiter
- Keith J. Hudson v. Jack McMillian
- Donald L. Helling v. William McKinney
- Murray v. Giarratano
- Dee Farmer v. Edward Brennan
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Robert Lee Shell v. Mississippi
- Tommy Cage v. Louisiana
- R. Dobie Langenkamp v. C. A. Culp
- Raymond J. Moskal, Sr. v. United States
- Robert S. Minnick v. Mississippi
- Richard Demarest v. James
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error