MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Activist Pamela Moses will not face a second trial over illegal voting registration accusations, the Shelby County District Attorney announced Friday.
Moses was sentenced to six years by a judge in January, after she was found guilty of making or consenting to false information on an election document.
But that same judge later granted her a new trial, saying information about a previous conviction should not have been considered by the jury, and that a document from probation officials was not disclosed at trial. A trial had been set to start April 25.
Friday, District Attorney Amy Weirich said her office was dismissing the illegal registration case and the violation of probation against Moses “in the interest of judicial economy.”
“Our original offer to the defendant Pamela Moses was a guilty plea to a misdemeanor and no time to serve. She rejected that offer and asked for a jury trial. At the conclusion of the week-long trial, the jury convicted her on the felony charge of false entry on permanent voter registration. She was taken into custody and spent 75 days in jail before Judge Ward granted her motion for new trial. In total, she has spent 82 days in custody on this case, which is sufficient. She is also permanently barred from registering to vote or voting in Tennessee as a result of her 2015 conviction for Tampering with Evidence. In the interest of judicial economy, we are dismissing her illegal registration case and her violation of probation.”
Amy Weirich
Moses admitted registering to vote when she was permanently barred due to a felony conviction, but maintained that probation officials told her she was eligible to be reinstated. She sought to have all charges against her dropped.
Weirich later said the Tennessee Department of Corrections had failed to turn over a document in the case.
