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Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tennessee legislature clears path to hear new evidence: 'Good news for innocent people'
More innocent people in prison will get their case before a judge after a bill passed the Tennessee legislature, according to the director of the Tennessee Innocence Project. The bill, which now heads to Gov. Bill Lee's desk to be signed into law, ensures people with new evidence of innocence can petition a court to hear that evidence. The Tennessee Senate approved the bill 24-6 with bipartisan support on April 10. Chattanooga Republican Sen. Todd Gardenhire, one of the bill's sponsors, said it fills a gap in the law for people who chose to plead guilty despite being innocent. Previously, those people could not present to a judge new, non-scientific evidence — which includes things like video footage of the actual perpetrator committing the crime — after pleading guilty. Jason Gichner, executive director of the Tennessee Innocence Project, said the bill was 'good news for innocent people in Tennessee.' 'There was not a legal pathway … to help these folks,' Gichner said. 'Now there is.' One of the compromises in the bill — a joint effort of the Tennessee Innocence Project and the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference — is that district attorneys general must sign off on the petition to present the new evidence. 'The DAs are the gatekeepers for these petitions,' Gardenhire said. He added the bill will apply only in 'very rare situations of actual innocence.' Gichner said his organization tries to work collaboratively on innocence cases, anyway. 'If there's objective evidence that shows somebody is innocent, both sides should be able to work together to do the right thing and get that person out of prison,' he said. More: Nashville judge issues ruling, won't overturn dad's murder conviction in baby son's death Gichner said most other states do not have this gap in the law that currently exists in Tennessee. 'I'm grateful that the legislature took this up and realized that this is a gap in the law that we had to do something about,' Gichner said. Have questions about the justice system? Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him with questions, tips or story ideas at emealins@ This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Legislature clears path for more innocence claims to get day in court
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bipartisan bill would make it easier for wrongfully convicted to present new evidence in court
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A bipartisan bill would make it easier for Tennesseans convicted of a crime they say they didn't commit to present certain evidence in court that proves their innocence, among other changes to make the process more efficient. Right now, Tennessee law only allows a person convicted of a crime to petition the court to reopen their post-conviction proceedings if there is new, scientific evidence proving their innocence, like DNA. There is no pathway for people convicted of a crime to petition the court if nonscientific evidence, like a video or new witness testimony, has been discovered. A bill that would make changes to the process is sponsored by Republican Senator Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) and Democratic Rep. Bob Freeman (D-Nashville). 📧 Have breaking news come to you: → 'The Tennessee Innocence Project brought to my attention the difficulties that people that have information that proves their innocence that is non-scientific, the difficulties those people have getting back in front of a judge, getting back into a court system and actually having their innocence proven in court,' Rep. Freeman said. 'If there was forensic data, scientific data, there is absolutely a mechanism through which they can bring that, but additional testimony, video, written evidence, that kind of stuff does not qualify.' The bill would allow people convicted of a crime to petition for nonscientific evidence to be presented in a hearing. In addition, the bill also 'evens the playing field for prosecutors,' according to Jason Gichner, the executive director of the Tennessee Innocence Project, by allowing prosecutors to file a petition with the court if they believe a person was wrongfully convicted. Gichner told News 2 while prosecutors have an ethical obligation to address wrongful convictions they come across, they currently don't have a procedural mechanism to bring these cases back into court. Many times, they have to let a defense attorney know if they believe someone is innocent and behind bars. Finally, the bill creates a 'free-standing innocence petition' to make the process easier and more efficient. 'It should not take 15 years to figure out if an innocent person is locked up for a crime committed by someone else,' Gichner wrote to News 2. 'If a person has objective evidence of innocence, never heard by a court before, they should get their day in court as soon as possible. This is not just better for the innocent person in prison, it is also much better for the victims who were denied real justice.' Rep. Freeman said it makes sense to work on the bill with a Republican because he considers this to be a very bipartisan issue. ⏩ 'Having two people addressing this in a nonpartisan way allows it to be viewed in a nonpartisan way, and this is one of those things,' Rep. Freeman said. 'What's more important than making sure that the right people are serving time in jail for crimes they committed? This gives us an opportunity for those people to challenge that and come back out.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
