State v. Walls

OPINION

in which FRANK F. DROWOTA, III, C.J., and ADOLPHO A. BIRCH, JR., JANICE M. HOLDER and WILLIAM M. BARKER, JJ., joined.

The defendant was convicted of escape from a penal institution and theft of property over $1,000. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed. We granted this appeal to determine the following issues: (1) whether a defendant’s flight from the rear of a patrol car constitutes the offense of escape from a penal institution under Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-16-605; (2) whether the escape statute is unconstitutionally vague; and (3) whether the trial court erred in failing to instruct…