TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Apr 16, 2025

The Tennessee legislature has approved a bipartisan bill, SB256/HB601, that will allow wrongfully convicted individuals who plead guilty to crimes they did not commit to file innocence claims in court based on new evidence. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, and Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Nashville creates a more direct path for innocence claims to be reviewed, the Chattanoogan reports. Currently, individuals who plead guilty have no legal avenue to return to court with new evidence. The bill establishes a process that allows judges to reopen cases when both the district attorney general and the individual — or their attorney — jointly file a petition. Before 2016, people with new evidence could file an error coram nobis petition, even if they had pleaded guilty, but the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that year that the statute applied only to those convicted at trial. The new legislation would amend the statute to explicitly include guilty pleas. Read more in an op ed from the bill sponsor.