TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Oct 9, 2023

Supporters of Gary Sutton, who has been on Tennessee’s death row since 1996, held a news conference Friday to call for removal of his federal public defender, Susanne Bales. Supporters say she did not meet with Sutton for 12 years and he plans to petition the court to remove her, the Associated Press reports. Also at the press conference was a private investigator who says she has uncovered “indisputable facts of exculpatory evidence, witness tampering and constitutional violations” in Sutton’s case. In response to complaints about her work, Bales said her team is working within the bounds of the legal system to “ensure Gary is not executed for a case that is riddled with problems.”