Defendants Struggle to Find Justice in Tennessee

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One of the fundamental rights of people caught up in our criminal justice system is "due process." But for some people, good legal representation is very difficult to find.

In 2007, a man named Thomas Edward Clardy was convicted of murder and given a life sentence for killing a man and wounding a woman at an auto body shop in Madison, Tennessee.

Clardy claims that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. Although Clardy's wife was his alibi — telling the jury he was at home on the night of the shooting — he says he hasn't gotten a fair trial. And in Tennessee, criminal defendants are often assigned underpaid and overworked attorneys.

Andrew Cohen, senior editor at The Marshall Project who's been covering Clardy's case, and Jessica Van Dyke, an attorney at Parker Lawrence Law in Nashville, Tennessee, who currently represents Clardy, discuss his case and Tennessee's criminal justice system. 

This segment is hosted by Noel King.