After 12 years behind bars, repeated appeals in his 2007 murder conviction and finally being freed in 2019 on a plea to a lesser felony charge of aggravated assault, a Grundy County, Tennessee, man has been exonerated of that final charge and can live his life with a clear record.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday exonerated 38-year-old Adam Braseel of that felony charge along with granting clemency to 16 other offenders seeking reviews of their cases by the governor, according to a news release from Lee’s office.
The governor said the exoneration in Braseel’s case offers justice where the criminal justice system fails.
“That’s exactly why we’re doing an exoneration today because part of the process, part of the system includes the ability for an exoneration when the evidence becomes clear that there’s been a breach of the justice system as was the case in this particular person’s life,” Lee said in a telephone news conference. “That’s why we’ve done what we’ve done today.”
Executive clemency in the form of exoneration refers to a finding by the governor that the applicant didn’t commit the crimes for which they were convicted, according to the release.