Paul Shane Garrett

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - (August 18, 2021) - Judge Angelita Blackshear Dalton of Division II of the Davidson County Criminal Court ruled to overturn the homicide conviction of Paul Shane Garrett, who was wrongfully convicted of a homicide in 2003 in Nashville, Tennessee. Jessica Van Dyke, Executive Director & Lead Counsel of the Tennessee Innocence Project, represented Mr. Garrett in these proceedings.

The Tennessee Innocence Project partnered with the Conviction Review Unit of the Davidson County District Attorney General’s Office to show clear evidence of Mr. Garrett’s innocence. The two entities plan to continue partnering together to reduce and prevent these tragic errors in the future.

Mr. Garrett pleaded guilty in 2003 to voluntary manslaughter to avoid a life sentence. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and released in 2011. Important DNA evidence collected from the crime scene excluded Mr. Garrett in 2001; no match was made at that time. Upon the advice of his counsel, Mr. Garrett pleaded guilty in 2003.  In 2004, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified a match to the collected DNA evidence and notified local agencies of an alternate suspect. No action was taken by any agency and Mr. Garrett remained in prison until 2011. In 2010, based on the prompting of a cold case detective, additional investigation was undertaken which indicated Mr. Garrett’s innocence. Additional DNA testing further exonerated Mr. Garrett. 

“It took 20 years to get results in this case. What we now know is that Mr. Garrett’s DNA is not anywhere on the crime scene, on the victim’s body and the most relevant samples, in this case, are unequivocally tied to a different person altogether,” Van Dyke said.

The case against Mr. Garrett relied on his alleged confession, which investigators now say likely never happened. During Mr. Garrett’s interrogation in 2003, police detectives lied to Mr. Garrett about finding his DNA at the scene. Additionally, key police files connected to the case were found to be missing when cold case detectives reviewed the case in 2011.

“It is our honor to have represented Mr. Garrett and achieve our first exoneration since forming the Tennessee Innocence Project as a state-wide non-profit in 2019,” shared founding Board President, Stephen Ross Johnson, a criminal defense attorney and partner at Ritchie, Davies, Johnson & Stovall, P.C. “This is a huge victory, not only for Mr. Garrett, but for our State as we work to ensure justice for all means all.”