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Exonerating Adam After 12 Years in Prison
Exonerating Adam After 12 Years in Prison
How Litson Attorneys Helped Free an Innocent Man After 12 Years
In 2007, Adam Braseel was wrongfully convicted of murder in Grundy County, Tennessee, despite no physical evidence, no motive, and a strong alibi. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, largely on the strength of eyewitness identifications later shown to be flawed. He spent 12 years in prison for a crime he did not commit before Alex Little and Zack Lawson took on his case.
Our team uncovered evidence the original investigation had missed or ignored. We challenged the identification procedures that produced the eyewitness testimony, established that the prosecution had failed to disclose physical evidence to the defense, and pursued fingerprint testing that tied another man to the scene. Through post-conviction filings and evidentiary hearings, we dismantled the foundation the original case rested on.
The convictions were overturned and Adam walked out after 12 years. On December 2, 2021, on the recommendation of the Tennessee Board of Parole, Governor Bill Lee granted him an exoneration. He has always maintained his innocence.
Key Facts
12 years in prison: Adam was wrongfully incarcerated for over a decade.
No physical evidence: Not a single piece linked Adam to the crime.
Fingerprint breakthrough: Retesting matched a known violent criminal, not Adam.
What the Original Trial Missed
The Governor’s exoneration order catalogs the problems with the 2007 trial. Defense counsel did not call witnesses who could speak to Mr. Braseel’s alibi for the night of the crime. The eyewitness identifications that anchored the State’s case were tainted by procedural deficiencies. The prosecution failed to disclose certain physical evidence to the defense. And there was no physical evidence and no motive connecting Mr. Braseel to the crime at all.
He was convicted on November 9, 2007, in the Circuit Court for Grundy County of first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, especially aggravated robbery, attempt to commit first degree murder, aggravated assault, especially aggravated burglary, and assault.
The Fingerprint
After the trial, fingerprint testing technology advanced far enough to permit retesting of a print recovered from the scene.
The print did not belong to Adam Braseel. It belonged to a known violent criminal.
That result, together with the rest of the newly discovered evidence, led to the reversal of his convictions for first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, especially aggravated robbery, attempt to commit first degree murder, especially aggravated burglary, and assault.
The Choice at the Courthouse Door
One charge remained. On the advice of counsel, Mr. Braseel entered an Alford plea to aggravated assault in exchange for a sentence of time served and immediate release. An Alford plea permits a defendant to accept a conviction while continuing to assert innocence, and it is frequently the price of walking out the same day instead of waiting years for a retrial.
He has always maintained his innocence.
The Exoneration
The Tennessee Board of Parole recommended that Mr. Braseel be exonerated. On December 2, 2021, Governor Bill Lee granted an exoneration in his favor as to the convictions in case number 4221, acting under the authority vested in the office by Article III, Section 6 of the Tennessee Constitution.
What This Outcome Means
Wrongful convictions rarely come undone in a single moment. This one required a court ruling on newly discovered evidence, a plea taken to secure immediate release, a recommendation from the Board of Parole, and finally an act of the Governor. Every one of those steps depended on someone continuing to push long after the system had reached its verdict and moved on.
Alex Little has represented Adam Braseel since 2016, and Zack Lawson has been on the case with him.
The Litson Team
Alex Little and Zack Lawson handled the post-conviction litigation, the evidentiary hearings, the Board of Parole proceeding, and the clemency petition.
Exoneration granted December 2, 2021. Case no. 4221, Circuit Court for Grundy County, Tennessee.
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