TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Feb 1, 2017
A lawmaker has drafted legislation that would exonerate Lawrence McKinney, the Wilson County man who was cleared of a rape and burglary conviction by DNA evidence in 2009 but has been denied exoneration, the Tennessean reports. The bill to be proposed by State Rep. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, would apply to anyone who spent 25 years or more in prison before being cleared through DNA evidence and would remove the requirement for gubernatorial action for exoneration. McKinney spent 31 years behind bars, and has so far been unable to gain executive exoneration, which can currently only be granted by the governor.