Knoxville man involved in 1996 murder as a teenager pleads for sentence to be overturned

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On paper, Almeer Nance said, it looks like he has little chance of a break from his long, long prison sentence in Tennessee.

However, in his “spirit” he believes that he will experience freedom.

“The small victories make a huge difference,” the inmate said Friday afternoon in a hearing before Knox County Criminal Judge Hector Sanchez.

Nance and his legal team, including attorneys Jonathan Harwell and Melissa DiRado, are trying to persuade Sanchez to reconsider a ruling that predates the judge's tenure and dates back to the late 1990s, when Nance agreed to a life sentence to be followed by an additional 25 years.

Today, Nance says that as a teenager, he had no idea what kind of deal he was getting into. He cites a recent court ruling that benefits him.

When he was 16 years old – still a minor in the eyes of the law – 16-year-old Nance participated in the robbery and murder of a Radio Shack employee named Joseph Ridings of West Knox County. Co-defendant Robert Vincent Manning, in his early 20s, pulled the trigger.

A Knox County jury convicted Nance of murder. At the last minute, he agreed to a plea deal that required him to serve life and then 25 years in prison, rather than life without the possibility of parole as the state of Tennessee had announced.

Nance told Sanchez he doesn't fully know all of his options. He is still trying to complete his life sentence, which has a minimum of 51 years, and then he must begin serving time for another felony conviction.

Two years ago, however, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that life sentences for juveniles were cruel and unusual and deserved to be reviewed. However, its ruling did not automatically grant the inmates a reduction in their sentence.

Nance's lawyers used the decision as an opportunity to throw Nance out of the case.

They are demanding that his prison sentence be commuted to a combined single sentence, for which he would be eligible for parole after 25 years. This would give him the opportunity now.

Nance told Sanchez that over the past few years he has focused on being a positive person, doing positive things and improving himself through college courses.

“I owe it to the victims of my crime. I owe it to myself,” he said.

But TaKisha Fitzgerald, a veteran prosecutor from Knox County, told the judge that Nance has already had one chance. In April, he had the opportunity to present his case to the state parole board, but the board declined.

Fitzgerald said he had already received the vaccination he was entitled to.

RELATED TOPIC: Tennessee Supreme Court declares mandatory life sentence for juveniles convicted of murder unconstitutional

The assistant district attorney also confirmed Nance's testimony that he had been repeatedly incarcerated for misconduct and violations of the rules. For a time, she said, he was a member of the Crips gang.

He smoked marijuana in prison, she said.

Nance acknowledged that he sometimes got into trouble in prison, but he said it had been several years since he received a significant reprimand.

Nance stressed on Friday that he had ended his brief association with the gang in 2003.

Sanchez told attorneys Friday that he would hear evidence in the case and that Harwell and DiRado could submit additional memos before making their decision. Other members of the Nance family were expected to testify.

The trial is likely not the last step in Nance's plan.