Braswell seeks early release
Ex-principal convicted of killing wife cites cancer diagnosis, pandemic.
The family of Vern Braswell, the former Memphis school assistant principal convicted of the second-degree murder of his wife in 2005, is asking for a compassionate release for Braswell, citing his cancer diagnosis and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Braswell's attorney Lauren Fuchs said a petition for an emergency hearing was filed in Shelby County court on the last week of December.
In a statement, Braswell's family asked for “a compassionate release for Vern, the same way federal inmates have been receiving for months to prevent unnecessary deaths.”
In November 2004, Sheila Braswell, 32, was choked for at least three minutes before dying, according to medical examiner's testimony. She was found floating in the bathtub of the couple's Cordova home.
According to Vern Braswell's testimony, the couple routinely engaged in erotic asphyxiation and other forms of consensual sex that included elements of violence.
The defense argued Sheila Braswell's death was an accident and asked the jury not to convict Vern Braswell based on the couple's sex life that resulted in an accidental death.
Prosecutors said Sheila Braswell had recently filed for divorce from Vern Braswell and had a protection order taken out against him in 1996. They also zeroed in on witness testimony from a woman Sheila Braswell had an affair with during her marriage to Vern Braswell.
That witness said Vern Braswell routinely choked Sheila Braswell during sex, but also during arguments.
The jury ultimately found Braswell guilty of the killing, and he was sentenced to 24 years in prison.
He is currently serving time in the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville.
In a twist in the case almost 10 years after Braswell's verdict, defense attorneys filed a petition stating a sealed envelope in the state's evidence file was found with the words “do not show defense” and marked with Shelby County Dist. Atty. Amy Weirich's initials.
The petition also stated the discovery of the envelope appeared accidental, and the prosecuting attorney who was responsible for the envelope's discovery was quickly transferred to another division. Braswell's defense lawyers, the petition said, never knew what was in the envelope.
“The envelope is gone. It's no longer in the state's file” said defense attorney Lauren Fuchs in 2014.
The claim by defense attorneys was ultimately rejected by the court in a post-conviction hearing, and then again by the court of appeals.
As of today, Braswell has served 16 years out of his 24-year sentence.
His family says his recent cancer diagnosis, combined with the possibility of a more contagious strain of the novel coronavirus reaching prisons, should make him eligible for compassionate release.
In a statement provided to The Commercial Appeal, the family said they were hopeful the case would attract the attention of organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, NAACP, and “anyone else interested in ending systemic racial inequalities in the criminal justice system.”
Fuchs said she hoped the courts would recognize the merit in Braswell's release, and that he “gets the medical help he needs” for his cancer treatments.
Micaela A. Watts is a breaking news reporter for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at micaela .watts@commercialappeal.com.