'The truth is out there,' says freed man asking Gov. Lee to clear name

During a Grundy County, Tennessee, man's exoneration hearing before the state Board of Parole that ended with a unanimous recommendation to Gov. Bill Lee for exoneration, the petitioner's line-up of witnesses included a sheriff and judge who were harshly critical of the original investigation and of the legal defense presented at trial.

Adam Clyde Braseel, 37, was freed last year on a plea to aggravated assault - a best-interest plea also known as an Alford plea in which he maintains his innocence - in return for the dismissal of his 2007 conviction on a murder charge that had put him behind bars for 12 years.

In 2006, Braseel was charged with first-degree murder, robbery and aggravated assault in the beating death that year of 60-year-old Tracy City resident Malcolm Burrows and the savage attack on his sister, Becky Hill, and her son, Kirk Braden. Hill and Braden have since died.

Braseel walked away a free man in August 2019 but with a felony on his record that he contends was unjust, an opinion now shared by the panel that heard his application for exoneration on Wednesday.

After Wednesday's hearing, Braseel said he first thanked a higher power.

"I just want to first say glory to God," Braseel said Wednesday night. "Then, I'm thankful for all the people who had a part to play in where I am."

For Braseel, Wednesday's hearing wasn't just about clearing his record.

"It's about trying to restore what's been taken away from me," he said. "I'm home after taking a deal to come home an innocent man to ensure my physical freedom. I did that in hopes of going through this that we're going through now."

Wednesday's hearing was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Braseel's attorney, Alex Little, presented witnesses, photos and case files that took up the first four hours or so of the hearing, followed by 12th Judicial District Assistant District Attorney Steve Strain's presentation of opposing arguments, testimony and evidence.

Some strong criticism of the original investigation that led to Braseel's conviction arose in testimony from current Grundy County Sheriff Clint Shrum and Circuit Court Judge Justin Angel, both of whom came to the case later. Angel was elected to the bench in 2014, replacing retiring Judge Buddy Perry, who had presided over the trial and Braseel's earlier post-conviction efforts. Shrum was elected in 2014, defeating former Sheriff Brent Myers, who was in office at the time of the crime. Myers died last year.

Shrum told the panel records of the original investigation have disappeared and he has been unable to learn why or where they went, and he didn't think much of the investigative work.

"I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but this was some of the worst police work I have ever seen in my life," Shrum told the board. He called last year for a new trial for Braseel and said the original investigation was fraught with problems.

"I have had to gain everything as far as investigative notes and material through other parties," Shrum said, "and so putting together what I have seen following this case, I believe the sheriff's office made a mess of this investigation early on."

Shrum couldn't answer why investigators were so convinced the culprit was Braseel.

"There's no rhyme or reason to any of this to me," he said. When asked if he thought Braseel was innocent, Shrum said, "Yes, sir."

Judge Angel, who was in law school at the time of the crime in 2006, said he was unfamiliar with Braseel's case until it landed in his lap in 2015.

There was "no DNA evidence, no motive, no criminal history, no connection to the deceased, no confession " linking Braseel to the crime, he said. The crime was a beating death that should have left behind DNA in the form of the victims' blood that could have placed Braseel at the crime scene if he was there, he said.

Angel said that in his rulings he never contended that Braseel was innocent because that's not the judge's role, but he had instead ordered a new trial. He said he was surprised after a three-hour break in last August's hearing that a plea deal was struck in return for vacating Braseel's murder and robbery convictions.

When the state made the decision to take a plea to a lesser charge "it's clear now that the state conceded that he didn't commit the murder," Angel said. "When they let go of that, it's clear if he didn't commit the murder, he wasn't there and he didn't commit these other crimes either."

Angel "felt compelled to let the governor know and to let the board know that Mr. Braseel's innocent," he said.

The Burrows family remained unconvinced of anything argued by Braseel's side and continued to stand behind the original verdict that put the man they believe deserved a life sentence in prison.

"We loved Malcolm and Becky very, very much," said Kirby Crabtree, speaking for the Burrows family on Wednesday. Crabtree is the nephew of the victims, Burrows and Hill.

"I would also like to state that our family has always been totally satisfied that the right man in this particular case involving my uncle's homicide and my aunt's assault was correctly identified and that he did receive a fair trial," Crabtree said. "We believe with all our hearts that justice was served and that the right man was convicted of these particularly cruel crimes."

Strain put on one witness, Tina Bretz, who owned a car said to have been confused with the one Braseel was driving. She testified that her car wasn't even running at the time of the crime and that her boyfriend, whose name arose in 2017 in fingerprint evidence at issue in Braseel's appeals, never left a birthday party she was having that night.

(Read more: Out of prison, Adam Braseel is a free man on a mission)

After all parties had exhausted their remarks, the board spent about 10 minutes reviewing materials.

The state's Parole Board members include chairman Richard Montgomery and members Zane Duncan, Gary M. Faulcon, Tim Gobble, Mae Beavers, Roberta Nevil Kustoff and Barrett Rich.

Beavers is the only member appointed to the panel by Lee, in 2019. Montgomery and Faulcon were appointed by former Gov. Bill Haslam in 2013, Gobble in 2013 and again in 2016. Rich was appointed in 2014 and Duncan and Kustoff were appointed by Haslam in 2016.

Staff photo by Ben Benton / Siblings Christina and Adam Braseel stand under the sprawling boughs of a tree in Christina's Pelham, Tenn., yard on Aug. 7, 2019. For the past 12 years, the two, along with scores of supporters, fought for Adam Braseel's freedom from either side of the prison bar and are now hoping for exoneration from the governor.

Gobble and Kustoff have the closest ties to Southeast Tennessee.

Gobble is a former Bradley County sheriff, according to biographical information on board members. Gobble also was East Ridge city manager until 2013, when he was appointed to the board.

Kustoff hails from Chattanooga, where she practiced as a private attorney, then later worked in the Shelby County Trustee's Office as the delinquent tax attorney.

After 10 or 15 minutes of deliberation, the panel Wednesday night voted unanimously to recommend exoneration.

Gobble said Braseel "is innocent of the charges related to this case, and I recommend that the governor grant him full and complete exoneration."

Rich said he didn't find "clear and convincing" evidence that Braseel was innocent of the crime and that the state's attorney, Strain, put on facts that argued there was "a possibility" Braseel committed the crime.

"However, I do believe that there's no way in any court at this point that I would believe that Mr. Braseel would be convicted. There's no proof beyond a reasonable doubt," Rich said, noting the standard for guilt in a criminal trial. "I find by the preponderance [of evidence] at a minimum, that Mr. Braseel did not commit this crime and vote for exoneration."

Montgomery, the chairman of the board, noted Angel's position that he believed Braseel was innocent "was strong testimony" and that he believed "the facts lean toward Mr. Braseel being innocent in this."

Lee's press secretary, Gillum Ferguson, said Thursday in an email that the governor was aware of Wednesday's exoneration hearing and expected a finalized recommendation file to be sent by the board to the governor's office.

"Once we get the file from the Board of Parole, the governor will thoroughly review the case and determine whether to grant an exoneration for this individual, but there is no set timeline in which the governor must make a decision," Ferguson said.

Braseel's troubles began on Jan. 7, 2006, when the then-22-year-old was spending a weekend with friends in the Grundy County town of Coalmont. That same night, the 60-year-old Burrows was beaten to death and his sister and nephew savagely attacked by a thin man with red hair who drove away in a gold-colored car.

Braseel was named a suspect the next day based on an eyewitness identification from a photo lineup and a description of the suspect vehicle, both issues that were challenged by the defense in subsequent appeals and highlighted in Wednesday's clemency hearing.

In November 2007, Braseel was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to life in prison, largely based only on those two factors, but with no physical evidence tying him to the crime, according to court records. Issues such as a photo line-up that included only one suspect - Braseel - were later used by Braseel to challenge the case against him.

To win his release from prison, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated assault - the charge he was seeking exoneration from this week.

Braseel said he believes his case is call for change.

Wednesday's recommendation for exoneration "shows the world why there needs to be a prosecutorial oversight committee," Braseel said. "It's not OK for them to just do what they want and not be accountable. Shame on them for what they've done to me and my family."

Braseel's plea to the governor?

"The truth is out there. Exonerate me."

Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.