Character reference letters that went missing 15 years ago in the case of Vern Braswell have been returned to the man convicted of the second-degree murder of his wife in 2005.
The letters, which describe Braswell as a fixture of community service, were mailed to Braswell in prison in July 2020 along with an accompanying anonymous letter that offers an apology, activists said.
In November 2004, Sheila Braswell, 32, was choked for at least three minutes before dying, according to the medical examiner's testimony. She was found floating in the bathtub of the couple's Cordova home.
According to Vern Braswell's testimony, the couple routinely engaged in erotic asphyxiation and other forms of consensual sex that included elements of violence.
The defense argued Sheila Braswell's death was an accident and asked the jury not to convict Vern Braswell based on the couple's sex life that resulted in an accidental death.
Prosecutors said Sheila Braswell had recently filed for divorce from Vern Braswell and had a protection order taken out against him in 1996. They also zeroed in on witness testimony from a woman Vern Braswell had an affair with during his marriage.
That witness said Vern Braswell routinely choked Sheila Braswell during sex, but also during arguments.
The jury ultimately found Braswell guilty of the killing, and he was sentenced to 24 years in prison. He is currently serving time in the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville.
In a news conference Monday, local activist LJ Abraham detailed how the missing character reference letters came to light after 15 years.
Before his trial, dozens of West Tennesseans wrote a judge about Braswell’s character and community service, letters that were made a part of the sentencing files after trial.
However, those letters disappeared from the court records before Braswell’s appeal, Abraham said.
Abraham said this especially mattered since much of the prosecution’s focus during the appeal was on character, something that could have been refuted by the letters.
"At the Court of Appeals it could have had an effect on the sentence review," said Lauren Fuchs, Braswell's attorney. "They would have looked at everything the judge considered when setting the sentence and without those available, the court didn't change his sentence downward. They should have had that opportunity."
Braswell filed several motions in federal court related to the newly resurfaced letters Monday. With regard to those motions, he is representing himself pro se, said activist Hunter Demster.
There are less than four years remaining on Braswell’s 24-year sentence.
Cheryl Wallace, Braswell’s sister, said with his recent cancer diagnosis and COVID-19, they’re skeptical that he’ll be able to survive another three-plus years of incarceration.
“That’s all we want, for my little brother to make it home,” she said.
In January, Braswell asked for compassionate release due to a cancer diagnosis and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. That request was dismissed by a judge.
atherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com, 901-529-2799 or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.