The State of Tennessee has denied Lawrence McKinney justice for nearly 40 years, and it is time to rectify this horrible mistake.
The 60-year-old Wilson County man spent 31 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. That an innocent person spent any time behind bars is an outrage.
Even more outrageous is that the Tennessee Parole Board rejected his first request for exoneration in 2009. Then-Gov. Phil Bredesen, who was not bound by the board’s recommendation, could have made things right, but he never acted upon it.
The reasons have not been made public, which is as mind-boggling as McKinney getting turned down.
Now, seven years later, the parole board has the chance to redeem itself. McKinney has made a second request for exoneration, and a spokesperson confirmed that the board has all the information needed to review it and make a recommendation. That is expected to come out within the next two months.
Regardless of the recommendation, Gov. Bill Haslam should work as quickly as he can to grant McKinney the exoneration he deserves.
It will not be the end of McKinney’s journey, but it will be a step in the right direction.
McKinney will still face an uphill battle getting compensation from the Tennessee Board of Claims, which has paid out exoneration claims only twice since 2003. That amount cannot exceed (continue reading at Tennessean)