State parole board votes against Wilson County man’s exoneration
A Wilson County man who served 31 years in prison on a rape and burglary conviction before DNA evidence cleared him of the crime was not recommended for exoneration by the Tennessee Board of Parole on Tuesday.
The board, which voted 7-0 not to recommend the formal exoneration to the governor, still questioned his innocence.
Lawrence McKinney, 60, was released in 2009 after his 1978 conviction in Memphis was overturned. His record was expunged after his release, but attempts to get a formal exoneration have been mired in red tape, according to his supporters.
Having criminal records expunged is a judicial process, but exoneration is an additional declaration of innocence awarded by the governor. If granted, the exoneration enables a person to file for compensation with the Tennessee Board of Claims.
McKinney’s hearing lasted nearly four hours and had the feel of a trial.
McKinney testified on his own behalf and said he was offered a deal of five years when he was arrested for the rape to testify against a co-defendant. But he turned it down “because I didn’t know anything about the crime.” McKinney was sentenced to 100 years for the rape and 10 to 15 years for the burglary.
But parole board member Tim Gobble questioned evidence that contributed to McKinney’s original conviction, including victim statements that the woman knew her attackers.
Gobble, who conducted the hearing, also went through a lengthy disciplinary record McKinney had in prison and questioned the completeness of the DNA testing that helped release McKinney.
McKinney was adamant that he was at home when the crime occurred and several times raised his voice in his defense..
He didn’t deny a reported 97 incidents he was involved in while in prison but said that “only the strong survive” in a prison culture. And in an emotional turn at the end of the hearing, James Beasley testified that McKinney stabbed him while both were inmates at the Hardeman County Correctional Complex.
Board members also questioned McKinney about admissions to the crime made at a parole hearing after he had already served 28 years in prison. McKinney said admissions were only in hopes of getting released, but Gobble went through details of the admission and asked if McKinney was telling the truth then or now.
It’s McKinney’s second time to apply for executive exoneration. He failed to get a recommendation soon after his release, and then-Gov. Phil Bredesen opted not to go against the board and exonerate McKinney.
Lorna McClusky, with the Innocence Project, represented McKinney and told the board that DNA testing excluded McKinney from being one of the two men who raped the victim. The board questioned that as well.
The second rape was reportedly “quick,” according to testimony at the hearing. Gobble stated it’s possible to rape without ejaculation and questioned whether DNA evidence not being found excluded McKinney’s involvement.
The parole board can make a positive or negative recommendation to exonerate and forward those findings to the governor for consolidation. The governor ultimately decides exoneration cases and is not bound to follow the parole board’s recommendation, nor is he required to act on a recommendation. The parole board’s recommendation is expected to be sent to the governor’s office in the coming weeks, said parole board spokeswoman Melissa McDonald.