KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The man convicted of the first-degree murder of 15-year-old Zaevion Dobson‘s in 2015 is petitioning the court for his conviction and sentence to be overturned, claiming that his constitutional rights were violated.

Christopher Bassett asked the court to overturn his conviction of 17 charges, including one count of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted first degree murder, three counts of attempted second degree murder, and nine charges related to weapons in a petition dated Aug. 4.

He was convicted in February of 2018 and is currently serving a life sentence plus 35 years.

Bassett alleges that during his trial, he was denied multiple rights, including the right to a fair trial, the right to equal protection, and the right to fair sentencing. Additionally, the petition said the case had insufficient evidence, that Bassett had ineffective council, and that his confession was given unknowingly, intelligently or voluntarily.

In 2019, a judge denied a new trial for Bassett and his codefendants, Richard Williams III and Kipling Colbert Jr. Bassett also attempted to appeal his conviction in Criminal Appeal Court and the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2022, but both appeals were denied, the petition says.

In December 2015, Dobson was shot and killed on a porch in Lonsdale while shielding two of his friends from gunfire. Dobson was a Fulton High School student and football player.

During the trial in 2016, the state argued that Dobson’s murder was caused by a territorial gang rivalry. Evidence admitted in the trial included a rap video that included Bassett, Williams and Colbert.