The Tennessee Justice Project (TTJP) works to improve the Tennessee criminal justice system, particularly in the death penalty arena, in three areas:

Structure and Performance of the Indigent Defense System

The overwhelming majority of criminal defendants in Tennessee are indigent and must rely on the state to provide legal counsel. Public defenders in Tennessee are burdened with some of the highest caseloads in the country and are paid starting salaries that are about half that paid to new lawyers in private practice.

Not surprisingly, the quality of legal representation provided to indigent defendants by state-appointed counsel is demonstrably inferior to that provided to those who afford to hire and pay for their own lawyer. And we run the risk of executing defendants, not because they are the worst offenders, but because they have the worst lawyers.

• TTJP endorses the adoption of the American Bar Association’s Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases (February 2003).
• TTJP seeks the creation of a statewide independent authority to administer and enforce reasonable and meaningful standards for capital defense counsel’s qualifications, performance, caseload, and resource assistance.

Indigent Defense Resources

The fairness and accuracy of the Tennessee criminal justice system is jeopardized by a significant and unfair imbalance of financial and other resources between the prosecution and indigent defense functions. This resource imbalance creates an uneven playing field that ultimately leads to greater financial and human costs and reduced public confidence in the criminal justice system.

When even the most capable and hard-working attorneys lack adequate resources to do their job, there is an increased risk that innocent people will be incarcerated, guilty people may escape prosecution, and other defendants will receive excessive unfair sentences. To ensure a properly functioning criminal justice system, funding for indigent defense attorneys must be raised to a level that corresponds appropriately to the resources of the prosecution.

• TTJP advocates for reasonable parity for indigent cases between the defense and the prosecution so that the defense counsel is included as an equal partner in the justice system.

Wrongful Conviction Safeguards

Research into exonerations of innocent people has yielded much information on the primary causes of wrongful convictions and has identified a number of common, preventable errors. To promote solutions to the problem of wrongful convictions, The Tennessee Justice Project has constructed a national program of initiatives designed to increase the fairness and accuracy of the criminal justice system.

• TTJP works to implement meaningful substantive reforms that address the legacy of wrongful conviction in this country by enhancing protections for innocent people accused of crimes.