One of the bedrock principles of our criminal justice system is the defendant does not have to testify in his defense. Corey Batey had to testify for two reasons

  1. Batey had to say the two magic words. I’m sorry.
  2. Batey had to advance the defense theory of his intoxication.

One of the elements of aggravated

One of the former Vanderbilt Football players accused of rape appears to be ready to put on a defense of  intoxication as a defense. The defense for Brandon Vadenburg has filed a report of an expert where they assert that alcohol  effected his mental state.

Tennessee Code Annotated 39-11-503 spells out the defense of intoxication

Four former Vanderbilt football players were indicted for five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery by a Davidson County Tennessee Grand Jury. Aggravated Rape is a Class A felony in Tennessee which carries punishment in the range on 15 to 25 years in prison. The definition of aggravated rape in Tennessee