Tenn. appeals court denies relief for convicted murderer

A Clarksville, Tenn., man convicted of a 2002 shooting and sentenced to 55 years in prison is not entitled to post-conviction relief as his petition was filed too late, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ruled.

Emmanuel S. “Batman” Trotter on Sept. 4, 2008, filed a petition for post-conviction relief, but the statue of limitations for filing such an appeal had expired. In the petition, Trotter argued that his appellate counsel “did not inform him of his right to seek post-conviction relief until after the statute of limitations had expired.”

However, a Circuit Court judge subsequently held a hearing to rule on whether Trotter’s petition should be dismissed as it was filed outside of the statute of limitations. The judge dismissed his petition, saying the it was filed “outside the statute of limitations and that there is no basis for tolling the statute of limitations,” court records show.

“The Petitioner could and should have pursued this avenue of relief when his application for permission to appeal was denied,” the court write in its opinion denying Trotter’s appeal. “Accordingly, we conclude that due process concerns do not necessitate the tolling of the statute of limitations.”