Pervis Payne is facing execution December 3rd. Payne is 100% innocent. They haven't done a DNA test on the victim which would prove his innocence. Payne is a disabled man with an intellectual disability.

He was 20 years old when he stumbled upon a murder scene in June of 1987. He was shocked and tried his best to help the victim but he was mistaken as the attacker. He described it as the worst thing he's ever seen in his life.

He was later arrested in February and after prosecutors evoked racist stereotypes to paint Payne as a violent and hypersexual black man who attacked a white women while on drugs, he was put in jail. No evidence supports this theory, those who knew Payne described him as kind and respectful, he never had a criminal history and often helped out at the church.

Because of his disability, Payne was not able to fully participate in his defense and was not a strong witness on his own behalf. At the time of his trial, Payne’s disability was not recognized, but doctors have since confirmed through testing that Payne has an intellectual disability.

The State argued that the crime took place exclusively in the kitchen, where Payne found the victim. But that doesn’t explain why the victim’s bedding is extensively bloodstained. Payne lives with an intellectual disability, which means it is unconstitutional to execute him. Growing up Payne struggled in school and, despite his best efforts, was not able to graduate. His teachers say he put in a lot of effort, but had difficulty learning to read, spell, and do math. Payne’s family say he is not able to follow complicated instructions, including driving to new places. Growing up, he had trouble with chores like cooking and doing laundry, and needed help feeding himself until he was 5.

The use of racial stereotypes used against Payne often leads to wrongful convictions and sentencing. The prosecution hid the fact that they never did a DNA test on a bloodstained bed sheet which would prove Payne's innocence. Payne would've had no reason to hurt someone let alone murder them.

The victim’s ex-husband had a history of abusive behavior, including physically, mentally, and emotionally abusing the victim during their marriage. At the time, investigators excluded him as a suspect because he was serving a sentence for aggravated assault at Fort Pillow State Penitentiary, a minimum security prison, at the time of the murders. However, an employee of the prison has since admitted that it was common for minimum security inmates to leave the prison during the day without repercussions, meaning it would have been possible for him to visit the victim and potentially perpetrate the crime while serving his sentence.
Additionally, a man was seen running from the crime scene shortly before Payne discovered Christopher in her apartment. Both Payne and another eyewitness also saw this man.