Skip to main content
Wednesday, November 11, 2026Nov 11

Grundy man freed in 2019 after 12 years in prison on a murder conviction seeks clemency on lesser charge

Adam Braseel, freed Aug. 1 after being incarcerated for 12 years for a crime he has always maintained he didn't commit, talks Aug. 7, 2019, about his life looking forward, the long list of losses looking back and where his faith has helped him make the most of his situation as he continues the fight to clear his name.
Adam Braseel, freed Aug. 1 after being incarcerated for 12 years for a crime he has always maintained he didn't commit, talks Aug. 7, 2019, about his life looking forward, the long list of losses looking back and where his faith has helped him make the most of his situation as he continues the fight to clear his name. Adam Braseel, freed Aug. 1 after being incarcerated for 12 years for a crime he has always maintained he didn't commit, talks Aug. 7, 2019, about his life looking forward, the long list of losses looking back and where his faith has helped him make the most of his situation as he continues the fight to clear his name.

A free man’s work is never done.

At least that’s the case for Adam Braseel, 37, who was freed in 2019. He had been incarcerated for 12 years on a murder conviction for a killing he contended all along he didn’t commit.

That moment was cause for celebration, but Braseel paid a price. He entered what’s called a best-interest plea, or an “Alford plea” – meaning the defendant maintains his innocence – to a charge of aggravated assault.

Now he’s seeking to clear his name of that charge as well. It all goes back to 13 years ago, when Braseel was charged with first-degree murder, robbery and aggravated assault in the 2006 beating death of Tracy City, Tennessee, resident Malcolm Burrows and the attacks on Burrows’ sister, Becky Hill, and her son, Kirk Braden, court records show.

On Wednesday, Braseel will make his case to clear his name at the Tennessee Board of Parole’s Executive Clemency Unit.