NASHVILLE (AP) - The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that family and legal advocates for a man convicted of killing seven people in a series of robberies in Nashville and Clarksville in 1997 cannot continue to appeal his convictions against his wishes.

The court released a unanimous opinion on Thursday saying that Paul Dennis Reid, while undeniably brain damaged, was not proven to be mentally incompetent to make his own legal decisions.

Reid has said he wants to abandon his appeals and accept the death sentence, but his sister and attorneys said he lacked the mental competency to make those decisions and they wanted to continue his appeals on his behalf.

Courts in Nashville and Clarksville conducted hearings on his competency in 2008. Both concluded his advocates failed to prove his mental incompetency.