WATCH ALMEER'S DOCUMENTARY HERE

Community Defense of East Tennessee is supporting justice for children and shedding light while seeking to change the way children are sentenced in the state of Tennessee. We are also supporting Almeer in his efforts for clemency filed with the Governor of Tennessee. We ask that you support by watching his story and signing his change.org petition.

Tennessee has one of the harshest mandatory sentences for juveniles in the country. The Felony murder law in Tennessee states that if someone is killed during the commission of a felony, all parties involved are equally responsible for that person's death. Regardless if they weren't the ones actually responsible for causing the person's death. If convicted of felony murder a person has to serve a mandatory minum 51 years before they are eligible for relief. This sentence is also given to children.

In 1996 the 16-year-old Almeer Nance took part in an armed robbery with an adult who was at the time 20 years old. Just hours before, that same adult shot Almeers' friend. During the robbery, the store clerk was killed. At trial, the adult testified he pulled the trigger, and Almeer did not have a choice but to go with him. As a result, some have said that Almeer was, in a sense, kidnapped.

 A second juvenile, a white female, who had the exact charges as Almeer, was sentenced to only one (1) year in prison and 20 years of probation. 

Almeer was sentenced to 51 years plus 25 years at 100% to be run consecutively after 51 years. “This is an example of the two different justice systems in this country”

Almeer filed for Clemency to commute his sentence. He is asking that his two consecutive sentences be combined and that he be eligible for an immediate parole hearing. Almeer has served over 25 straight years of his sentence. Almeer has demonstrated that he has been rehabilitated.