TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Dec 13, 2022

Attorneys representing the City of Memphis have asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit from rape victim Alicia Franklin, arguing Memphis police had no duty to investigate her case to the extent she believes was needed. Cleotha Henderson has been charged with Franklin’s 2021 rape and with the kidnapping and murder of Memphis jogger Eliza Fletcher. Franklin sued the city for failing to investigate her case properly, claiming the failure to arrest Henderson led to the death of Fletcher – a claim the city called “immaterial, impertinent and scandalous” in its Dec. 6 motion. The city is asking Circuit Court Judge Mary L. Wagner to dismiss the case or, alternatively, to strike all references to Fletcher and delays in the testing of rape kits from the plaintiff’s complaint. Read more from the Daily Memphian.