Appeals Court Denies DNA Testing in Sedley Alley Case - Articles

All Content

Appeals Court Denies DNA Testing in Sedley Alley Case

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on May 13, 2021

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has denied a request from the estate of Sedley Alley to test DNA from his case in an attempt to exonerate him posthumously, the Daily Memphian reports. Alley was executed in 2006 for the murder of 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Suzanne Collins outside the Millington Naval base in 1985. Alley’s daughter petitioned the court through the nonprofit Innocence Project to test DNA from the case. In November 2019, Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan ruled that the estate did not have standing in the case. Attorneys appealed arguing that the DNA Act authorizes the estate of a deceased defendant to petition for DNA testing. A three judge panel of the appellate court agreed with Skahan, finding that an estate is not a person within the definitions of the act. The Innocence Project said it plans to appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court.