NASHVILLE — In what has now become a holiday tradition, Gov. Bill Lee on Friday granted executive clemency to 23 Tennesseans, including six people from Southeast Tennessee, all of whom were convicted years ago for various crimes.
He gave pardons to 22 people who already had served their sentences. He also commuted the sentence of Michelle Lockwood-Tipton, of Sevier County, who was convicted as an accessory in the 2000 murder of a Pigeon Forge hotel clerk by her then-boyfriend.
“Executive clemency is a very powerful tool, and it is not something I take lightly,” the Republican governor told reporters Friday during a conference call, describing it as a “very serious responsibility.”
“It’s unique to the role of the governor at the state level, president at the federal level,” Lee added. “And consistent with my process in prior years, each case was reviewed individually, the decisions were made on unique merits for each one of these cases.”