Posted 4/24/24

Wayne Burgess, has filed a lawsuit against Giles County, Pulaski, and the Pulaski Police Officers that investigated and prosecuted him.

Burgess was wrongfully imprisoned for 24 years on the testimony of a disgraced medical examiner. He was released from prison in May last year after a Giles County judge overturned the first-degree murder conviction he received in 1999.

The conviction came on the flawed testimony of former medical examiner Charles Harlan.

Judge David L. Allen found that new scientific evidence showed Burgess was innocent of the 1997 death of his then-girlfriend's daughter.

April 12th, Burgess filed a federal lawsuit against Giles County, the Pulaski Police Department and Joel Robison and John Dickey, the two officers he says illegally coerced a confession from him.

Burgess is seeking compensation from the defendants in an amount to be determined at trial.

Giles County Executive Graham Stowe said Giles County does not yet have a response to the lawsuit because it was only served with the lawsuit Monday.