BACKGROUND: From a previous post of this Blog: (June 11, 2026): Tameshia Shelton: Mississipi. (From our enough to make one weep' department): Question of the day: Murder or suicide?: Years after the conviction, deputy chief medical examiner for Mississippi at the time, Dr. Lisa Funte, who now goes by “Liam," - the pathologist whose testimony helped prosecutors land a murder conviction, admitted in a sworn statement that his ruling that Danelle Young's death was a homicide was an “error" - and during a new hearing, he told the court that he lacked knowledge of any data or scientific studies that supported his original conclusion for Young’s manner of death — in fact, they contradicted it. If he had the chance to rule again, Funte wrote to the court, he would deem the death undetermined but leaning toward suicide, saying, “Any bullet trajectory can occur in both homicides and suicides. I see no evidence at this point to support homicide.” Great journalism by Jerry Mitchell, Madeline Nguyen and Alyssa Daly, published, to its credit, by Mississippi Today, under the heading,"One night in Mhoon Valley
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Shelton’s trial lawyer, Rod Ray, failed to introduce Young’s apparent suicide note as evidence — a key reason why the appeals court ordered a new trial for her. The appeals court found Ray was so “ineffective” as Shelton’s defense attorney that he violated her constitutional right to a fair trial. Other gaps have emerged in Shelton’s case in the years since her murder trial. The prosecution’s case against her relied upon a deputy state medical examiner’s official ruling that Young’s death was a homicide. The pathologist later called the conclusion an “error” due to lack of experience. Prosecutors also used testimony from Clay County sheriff’s deputies that conflicted with actual records."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "In the years following Shelton’s conviction, her family reached out to everyone they could, including District Attorney Scott Colom in 2018. They told Colom that Young’s death was a suicide, not a homicide. After studying her case, Colom began to have questions. “The evidence sounded thin,” he said. “There was not much motive.” On top of that, he said, if Shelton were truly guilty of murder, “Why would she call 911?” He reached out to the Mississippi Innocence Project to look into the case. And he later wrote a sworn statement in support of a hearing to determine if Shelton deserved a new trial. The wall of Colom’s office has a reminder to him about not rushing to judgment: a photo of Kennedy Brewer and Levon Brooks, two exonerated men who together spent a total of 30 years behind bars, including time on death row, for murders they didn’t commit. Colom’s predecessor, Forrest Allgood, prosecuted the men and his office has now seen seven people have their convictions thrown out — the record for any district attorney in the state, according to a Mississippi Today analysis of data from the National Registry of Exonerations."
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STORY: "Tameshia Shelton is freed from prison after 11 years. Court said DA failed to prove guilt ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ in murder case," by Jerry Mitchell, (Senior Investigative Reporter) Madeline Nguyen, (Roy W. Howard Investigative Reporting Fellow) and Claudia Amendoeira, (Investigative Reporting Fellow) published by Mississippi Today, on June 29, 2026.
SUB-HEADING: "Her release comes after an appeals court made her the seventh person to have their murder conviction thrown out in the same judicial district — a state record.:GIST: For her birthday Monday, Tameshia Shelton got the present she’s been wishing for every day for the last 11 years: freedom from prison.
Her four children, mother and other family members blew party blowers, handed her a teddy bear and hugged her as she emerged from the Clay County Detention Center Monday afternoon. “I felt numb before,” she said, “but now it feels real.”
On Monday, she was freed on a $50,000 bond with the help of the Mississippi Fund Collective. The moment marks her first freedom since a jury convicted her of murder in the 2009 shooting death of her sister’s 21-year-old boyfriend, Danelle Young.
Shelton’s lawyers are asking Circuit Judge James T. Kitchens to dismiss the indictment. If he grants the request, her case would mark the seventh exoneration in the same judicial district — a state record.
After her release Monday, she celebrated her freedom and her 48th birthday with Popeye’s chicken, hot sauce and white bread.
Tameshia Shelton beams at a crowd of family members after her release from the Clay County Detention Center on June 29, 2026. She walked out in a shirt made by her niece featuring a photo of her taken before she was sentenced to life in prison 11 years before. Credit: Claudia Amendoeira/Mississippi Today
“Eleven years too late, Ms. Shelton is coming home,” said one of her current lawyers, Sandra Levick of the Mississippi Innocence Project. “We appreciate everyone who made this day possible, but we will not truly celebrate until the case is finally over. That day should come soon.”
Earlier in June, the Mississippi Supreme Court refused to interfere with the December decision by the state Court of Appeals ordering a new trial for Shelton. The appeals court held that prosecutors failed to prove Shelton was guilty of murder “beyond a reasonable doubt” when she stood trial in 2015 for Young’s death.
The justices’ decision came days after Mississippi Today published its four-year investigation that found that Shelton has remained behind bars, even though much of the evidence in Young’s 2009 death suggested he killed himself — including an apparent suicide note never presented to the jury.
Shelton’s trial lawyer, Rod Ray, failed to introduce Young’s apparent suicide note as evidence — a key reason why the appeals court ordered a new trial for her. The appeals court found Ray was so “ineffective” as Shelton’s defense attorney that he violated her constitutional right to a fair trial.
Other gaps have emerged in Shelton’s case in the years since her murder trial. The prosecution’s case against her relied upon a deputy state medical examiner’s official ruling that Young’s death was a homicide. The pathologist later called the conclusion an “error” due to lack of experience. Prosecutors also used testimony from Clay County sheriff’s deputies that conflicted with actual records.
In the years following Shelton’s conviction, her family reached out to everyone they could, including District Attorney Scott Colom in 2018. They told Colom that Young’s death was a suicide, not a homicide.
After studying her case, Colom began to have questions. “The evidence sounded thin,” he said. “There was not much motive.”
On top of that, he said, if Shelton were truly guilty of murder, “Why would she call 911?”
He reached out to the Mississippi Innocence Project to look into the case. And he later wrote a sworn statement in support of a hearing to determine if Shelton deserved a new trial.
The wall of Colom’s office has a reminder to him about not rushing to judgment: a photo of Kennedy Brewer and Levon Brooks, two exonerated men who together spent a total of 30 years behind bars, including time on death row, for murders they didn’t commit.
Colom’s predecessor, Forrest Allgood, prosecuted the men and his office has now seen seven people have their convictions thrown out — the record for any district attorney in the state, according to a Mississippi Today analysis of data from the National Registry of Exonerations.
Asked before about Shelton’s case, Allgood said he didn’t recall it, but he added that just because an appeals court dismisses a case doesn’t mean it’s right. “Appeals courts are made up of fallible human beings,” he said.
He disagreed with the term exoneration when a case is reversed because “there’s a bias toward the accused being innocent, even after a jury says otherwise,” he said.
Colom couldn’t be reached Monday for comment, but he previously said he would “look at what the facts show and do justice” in Shelton’s case.
Not long after arriving at Young’s fatal shooting on Oct. 16, 2009, Clay County sheriff’s deputies concluded his death was a homicide. Shelton, who has maintained her innocence, became the prime suspect because she was the last known person to see Young alive.
Current Sheriff Eddie Scott, then the chief deputy, told a local reporter he’d ruled out the possibility that Young died from suicide or an accident because he had been shot in the chest from 30 feet away.
Only the gun was actually fired from less than an inch away. That’s what a State Crime Lab expert concluded after finding gunfire burns in Young’s jacket.
A jury convicted Shelton of murder in 2015, and she has suffered strokes and other health setbacks in prison. Her family has started a GoFundMe page for her.Tameshia Shelton’s four children, mother and other family members blew party blowers, handed her a teddy bear and hugged her as she emerged from the Clay County Detention Center Monday afternoon. Credit: Claudia Amendoeira/Mississippi Today
“How do you begin to rebuild a life when everything has been stripped away from you? For 11 agonizing years, our family has lived a nightmare,” her daughter, Trinity, wrote. “Her faith and her desire to hold her kids again are the only things that kept her alive.”
She wrote that in prison, “my mom’s health deteriorated drastically. Today, she lives with a severe disability and suffers from constant, violent seizures. Watching her fight for her life behind a prison cell — without the correct medical care — is a pain we wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
Shelton said Monday that before she left prison, other women serving life sentences told her that she inspires them.
She knows there are innocent people in prison, she said, perhaps because of a misunderstanding or a mistake, but “now you are silent and everybody looks at you like you’re some kind of criminal.”
She recalled that when Clay County deputies arrested her in 2011, she asked for an attorney and a phone call but didn’t get them right away. She quoted the officers as saying, “You said you’re innocent, right? So what do you need an attorney for?”
Now that she is free, she wants to help others in their battles for justice, because she realizes now that a wrongful conviction can happen to anyone, she said. “It could be you. It could be your child. It could be your mom. It could be your brother.”
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JERRY MITCHELL: The stories of investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell have helped put four Klansmen and a serial killer behind bars. His stories have also helped free two people from death row, exposed injustices and corruption, prompting investigations and reforms as well as the firings of boards and officials. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a longtime member of Investigative Reporters & Editors, and a winner of more than 30 other national awards, including a $500,000 MacArthur “genius” grant. After working for three decades for the statewide Clarion-Ledger, Mitchell left in 2019 and founded the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting.
MADELINE NGUYEN: "As a Roy W. Howard investigative reporting fellow, I cover stories that expose wrongdoing, hold powerful institutions accountable and illuminate disparities affecting everyday Mississippians. While my investigations span a range of topics, they are united by a common focus: justice. Through my work, I've seen how investigative reporting can drive real change and make the community we live in a better place."
CLAUDIA AMENDOEIRA: "Before joining Mississippi Today, I reinvestigated and produced a documentary about a wrongful conviction case in West Memphis, Arkansas, reported on psychiatric residential facilities for children, and worked as an Editorial Assistant at the Aspen Institute. I graduated with Honors from the Columbia School of Journalism as a fellow from the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism. Before that, I graduated Cum Laude from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. I am originally from Cascais, Portugal."
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The entire story can be read at:
https://mississippitoday.org/2026/06/29/tameshia-shelton-freed-from-prison/
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog. FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."Lawyer Radha Natarajan: Executive Director: New England Innocence Project; FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true;
