Name: Billy Irick
DOB: 08/26/1958
Offense: Murder 1
Offense date: April 30, 1985
County of conviction: Knox
Sentence date: Dec. 3, 1986
DOB: 08/26/1958
Offense: Murder 1
Offense date: April 30, 1985
County of conviction: Knox
Sentence date: Dec. 3, 1986
His attorney says he is incompetant to be executed because he has a mental illness.
NASHVILLE — The state Supreme Court has set a Dec. 7 execution date for Billy Ray Irick.
Irick was convicted of raping and killing a 7-year-old Knoxville girl he had been baby-sitting in 1985.
The court rejected an appeal from Irick's attorneys to issue a certificate of commutation. They had argued he was insane at the time of the crime.
In support, they introduced affidavits from the victim's stepfamily recounting Irick's bizarre behavior in the days before the slaying. That includes Irick chasing a girl he did not know down the street with a machete because he "didn't like her looks" and telling people he was "taking instructions from the devil."
While setting an execution date, the court also ordered a hearing in the Knox County Criminal Court to determine whether Irick is competent to be executed. Those proceedings must conclude within 55 days.
Date of Crime: 30th April 1985
Appeal Status: Re-sentencing hearing granted in May 2009
Appeal Status: Re-sentencing hearing granted in May 2009
Billy Irick was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of seven year old Paula Dyer.
In 2008 a motioned was filed for the overturning of the sentence, in May 2009, council argued and the court granted a rehearing of the sentencing phase.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The state Supreme Court has set a Dec. 7 execution date for Billy Ray Irick (EYE'-rik).
Irick was convicted of raping and killing a 7-year-old Knoxville girl he had been baby-sitting in 1985.
Irick was convicted of raping and killing a 7-year-old Knoxville girl he had been baby-sitting in 1985.
The court rejected an appeal from Irick's attorneys to issue a certificate of commutation. They had argued he was insane at the time of the crime.
In support, they introduced affidavits from the victim's stepfamily recounting Irick's bizarre behavior in the days before the slaying. That includes Irick chasing a girl he did not know down the street with a machete because he "didn't like her looks" and telling people he was "taking instructions from the devil."
While setting an execution date, the court also ordered a hearing in the Knox County Criminal Court to determine whether Irick is competent to be executed. Those proceedings must conclude within 55 days.
For the second time this week, a man on death-row is asking the state supreme court to commute his death sentence, after the state tried to set a date for his execution.
Billy Ray Irick’s defense says he was insane at the time of the 1985 rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl. And they say his mental illness should preclude him from facing the death penalty.
Billy Ray Irick’s defense says he was insane at the time of the 1985 rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl. And they say his mental illness should preclude him from facing the death penalty.
Irick’s is one of two executions the state has tried to set a date for this month, and earlier this week Stephen Michael West also asked the supreme court for commutation.
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The state currently has one execution date already set – that of Gaile Owens this September. You can read more about Owens’ case, along with a timeline of Tennessee executions over the last decade, at this link.
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