Where the case stands
His direct appeal, No. E2024-01809-CCA-R3-CD, was submitted to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals on August 11, 2026. He is waiting for the decision. See the appeal, step by step.
Where he is going
The goal is dismissal of the case with prejudice: an end to the case for good.
The road ahead
- The appeal decision. The Court of Criminal Appeals rules on the issues he raised himself.
- Fixing the judgment papers. The judgment reads life with the possibility of parole. The docket reads life without it. That conflict can be corrected at any time.
- Post-conviction. Once the appeal is over, he has one year to file a post-conviction petition, the place to raise what his lawyer left undone and what the State held back.
- Federal court. After the state courts are done, federal habeas review.
In my words
Coming soon: where Donyell says he is going, in his own words.
Donyell Dewayne Holland