## Facts

- Mack Brown and his wife were the parents of Eddie, their four-year-old son, who had developmental delays and a severe speech problem.
- Neighbors heard Brown and his wife arguing, followed by a loud thump against an apartment wall.
- Hours later, Eddie’s mother called for emergency assistance, reporting Eddie had fallen down stairs and was having difficulty breathing; paramedics arrived and found Eddie dead.
- Medical evidence showed multiple skull fractures, brain swelling consistent with violent shaking, internal hemorrhaging consistent with being struck, and widespread bruising.
- Eddie also had an untreated broken arm believed to have occurred weeks earlier.
- Brown admitted physically disciplining Eddie that day after the child urinated and defecated on the floor and described “snapping” and that “everything went blank.”
- The State presented evidence of ongoing child abuse to support a theory of premeditated and deliberate first-degree murder.
- Brown was convicted of first-degree murder and child neglect; he challenged the sufficiency of proof of premeditation and deliberation.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence was sufficient to prove the “premeditation” element of first-degree murder, requiring a previously formed intent to kill rather than an impulsive act.
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to prove “deliberation,” requiring a cool, reflective mental state rather than rage or passion during the killing.
3. Whether the severity of injuries and evidence of prior abuse, without proof of formed and reflected intent to kill, can support a conviction for first-degree premeditated and deliberate murder.

## Decision

- The Tennessee Supreme Court reversed Brown’s first-degree murder conviction.
- The court held the proof did not establish the required elements of premeditation and deliberation.
- The court concluded the evidence could support conviction for a lesser homicide offense (commonly described as second-degree murder) but not first-degree murder as charged.
- The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion, including entry of a lesser conviction.

## Legal Principles

- First-degree murder (as defined at the time) required proof beyond a reasonable doubt of both premeditation and deliberation.
- Premeditation requires a previously formed design or intent to kill, not an intent formed on impulse during a violent episode.
- Deliberation requires a “cool mind” capable of reflection; a killing committed in sudden passion, rage, or loss of self-control does not satisfy deliberation.
- Brutality of the attack and a history of abuse may show malice and serious culpability, but they do not, without more, establish premeditation and deliberation.
- The State must prove each statutory element of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt; the absence of any required element prevents conviction for that higher-degree offense.

## Conclusion

The court set aside the first-degree murder conviction because the State failed to prove that Brown killed with a previously formed, coolly reflected intent to kill; extreme violence and prior abuse supported serious criminal liability but did not substitute for proof of premeditation and deliberation.


State v. Brown, 836 S.W.2d 530 (Tenn. 1992)