Nashville Lawyer Sees 7 Clients Pardoned - Articles

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Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jan 3, 2025

Gov. Bill Lee last month pardoned 43 individuals who had served their sentences and been out of prison for at least five years. Lee said the individuals had demonstrated "exemplary citizenship" since their release. Among the group were seven individuals represented by Nashville criminal defense lawyer Ben Raybin with Raybin & Weissman PC. According to an email sent by Ben’s father David Raybin, this accomplishment marks the “most pardons any lawyer has ever acquired in a single year, except of course Gov. Ray Blanton's legal counsel, who took a cut of the bribes in the 1975 clemency-for-cash scandal.” According to the elder Raybin, less than 10% of applicants get pardons, making Ben’s work extraordinary. He also notes that the individuals now should be able to get their rights restored, and in most cases, a full expungement of their criminal record.