America's wrongful imprisonment epidemic: The case of Greg Lance

A man named Greg Lance may be wrongfully imprisoned in Tennessee for two murders that someone else committed.

Popular entertainment like the Netflix show “Making a Murderer” and true crime genre podcasts like “Undisclosed," "Serial,"  and “This American Life” have peaked the public’s interest in the more mundane aspects of criminal justice. People get personal satisfaction from watching the process of appealing a sentence, and having an innocent person freed after a jury clears them of wrongdoing.

The reality of wrongful incarceration is a bleak, long, and arduous process that victims say “they wouldn’t wish on anyone except the person who actually committed the crime.”

Greg Lance, now in his mid-forties, was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. He is presently incarcerated at the Northeast Correctional Complex in Mountain City, Tennessee. All efforts to exonerate him have failed.

In a letter to the Law Offices of Kathleen T. Zellner & Associates asking for legal help, Greg’s mother, Joyce Argo writes:

“There were no fingerprints connecting Greg to these murders, no one placed him at the scene of the crime, the physical evidence found at the crime scene could not be tied to Greg, and witnesses presented false testimony against Greg.  Greg was offered a plea of time served and 5 years’ probation and turned it down because he did not commit these murders.   Following Greg’s conviction, I spoke to one of the jurors who informed me that the jury didn’t believe that Greg committed the murders but they thought he knew who did and that is the reason they convicted him.  Please – before you decide that I am just another mother fighting for her guilty son – please, hear me out.”

Linda Bowsman, a former legal assistant, has been working on this case in her free time for the last fifteen years. "I always just ask myself 'what if it was my son?' said Linda. "I can't imagine how hopeless he must feel."

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To learn his whole story, visit his website or email joyceintennessee@gmail.com. His website not only includes detailed information about the trial, but also discusses the people who are believed to have truly committed the crime. For the purposes of this blog, I will refrain from making accusations and will only provide information and resources. I am in no way a legal expert, I'm just blogging information I have received from a legal assistant and the internet. I hope to share the story of Greg Lance so there can be a re-trial, to ensure justice for the victims and Mr. Lance. Please feel free to leave comments or email questions you may have about the case.

The last paragraph of his website reads: "No one understands the value of time like Greg Lance and hopefully one day together we can make his time his own."

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Look out for part III of this blog series next week!