Court affirms convictions, death penalty for Davidson in 1995 kidnapping, murder

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the convictions and death penalty given a Dickson County man for a 1995 kidnapping and murder. In an opinion filed last week, the three-judge panel affirmed the convictions and sentence given to Jerry Ray Davidson, who was convicted in 1997 for kidnapping and murdering Virginia “Jenny” Jackson. The opinion written by Jude John Everett Williams says the court’s review of the evidence and trial found no error that warrants the post-conviction relief sought by Davidson, now 69 years old. The court upheld Judge Robert Burch’s denial of Davidson’s petition for post-conviction relief based on claims of ineffective counsel, lack of evidence and trial court errors. Jackson was last seen alive Sept. 26, 1995, when she accepted a ride home from Davidson after an evening of drinking at the former Bronco’s Bar on Highway 46. Her family filed a missing persons report on Oct. 1 and on Oct. 19 two deer hunters found her mutilated body partially buried in the woods near the Dickson-Houston county line. Davidson’s mother, with whom he was living on McKenzie Avenue in Dickson, reported him missing Oct. 2 but told police he had returned home a week later. Investigators said they discovered evidence in the area where Jackson’s body was found that showed Davidson had been camping nearby. Davidson claimed he dropped Jackson off at the Dickson Kroger store the night she disappeared. Davidson’s conviction prompted Jackson’s cousin, then-State Rep. Doug Jackson, to sponsor legislation that led to the creation of Tennessee’s sex offender registry. Davidson remains on Death Row at the Riverbend Maximum Security Prison, however Tennessee has suspended all executions over questions about the drugs used in lethal injections.