In 2001, Shawn Hatcher was arrested and later sentenced to life in prison for murder. Prosecutors used a Tennessee law to charge him with a crime he says his brother committed. He was 17 years old.
The concept of criminal responsibility for conduct of another isn’t particularly new or unheard of. It’s been a part of American common law – the sets of laws inherited from past judicial decisions – since at least the 19th century. And it’s been an official part of Tennessee’s state code for decades.
Continue reading “Tennessee can charge people for crimes they didn’t commit, advocates want reform”