Gov. Bill Haslam commuted a murder sentence. He agrees the case is similar to Cyntoia Brown's.
July 26, 2018
"Gov. Bill Haslam cautioned against reading too much into his decision Thursday to commute the 25-year sentence of a woman who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
But the term-limited governor acknowledged the case bears some similarities to the highly publicized clemency petition of Cyntoia Brown.
"I think it does, in the sense of you know, abuse in the background that was a circumstance there," Haslam told reporters Thursday afternoon....
In describing his decision on Martin's case, Haslam said everyone he consulted told him she was an "incredible example of rehabilitation." However, the Board of Parole never granted a hearing in Martin's case, according to a Haslam spokeswoman. ...
As of July 19, the board had yet to supply Haslam with Brown's formal clemency recommendation, despite holding her hearing in May. A board spokeswoman said the board is still finalizing the report from its hearing and would send that information to the governor's office soon.
The board's decision is not binding; Haslam may choose to act as he sees fit. Haslam warned against reading the tea leaves from his Martin decision to predict how he'll act on future clemency petitions.
"I wouldn’t necessarily jump to any conclusions one way or the other. We’re trying to look at every case on an individual basis," Haslam said. ..."
Gov. Bill Haslam commuted a murder sentence. He agrees the case is similar to Cyntoia Brown's.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------