ANTHONY WASHINGTON v. TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION, ET AL. - Articles

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ANTHONY WASHINGTON v. TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION, ET AL.

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Aug 15, 2025

Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys 1: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; J. Matthew Rice, Solicitor General; and John H. Bledsoe, Deputy Attorney General, for the appellants, Frank Strada, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction; Douglas Stephens, Detainer Administrator of the Tennessee Department of Correction; and the Tennessee Department of Correction.

Attorneys 2: Anthony Washington, Clifton, Tennessee, Pro Se.

Judge(s): CLEMENT

This is an action for declaratory judgment filed by an inmate to correct his sentence expiration date. The inmate was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder, and his sentence was governed by the release eligibility provision now codified in Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-35-501(h)(1). The State agreed that § 40-35-501(h)(1) entitled the inmate to apply credits for good behavior and program performance to reduce his parole eligibility date, but the parties disagreed on whether the inmate could also apply his credits to reduce the length of his sentence, to advance his sentence expiration date. The trial court entered judgment for the inmate. The court reasoned that the sentence credit statute, Tennessee Code Annotated § 41-21-236, applies to all inmates unless otherwise specified and that the General Assembly had not specifically prohibited the application of credits to the expiration date of life sentences for first-degree murder. We agree with the trial court and affirm its judgment.

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