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@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Legislature clears path for more innocence claims to get day in court
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