Fred Auston Wortman III, a 49-year-old Tennessee attorney, will continue to serve his prison sentence for multiple attempts to murder his wife, according to a recent court ruling. In 2015, Wortman pleaded guilty to several charges of attempted first-degree murder and one charge of solicitation of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after serving 30% of his sentence.
Despite the sentencing guidelines suggesting Wortman would serve nine years before being eligible for parole, he was granted an early parole date in 2019 after serving only four years of his sentence. However, his bid for early release was denied by the parole board, leading to a series of appeals that have continued into this year.
In January 2020, Wortman filed an administrative appeal against the board’s decision, which was swiftly denied. He then initiated lengthy court proceedings at the trial court level in February 2020, asserting numerous causes of action and seeking a review of the denial.
Throughout 2020 and into February 2021, Wortman engaged in a series of motions, rejections, and appeals with the trial court and the parole board. His case eventually reached the Court of Appeals of Tennessee in Nashville. However, the appeals court offered little assistance.
In November 2021, a three-judge panel rejected Wortman’s effort to amend the trial court’s judgment in a 21-page ruling. The judges noted that Wortman had admitted guilt at his parole hearing, acknowledging that he had poisoned his wife’s toothpaste and attempted to hire a hitman to kill her multiple times.
In his 2021 appeal, Wortman largely avoided discussing the crimes he had pleaded guilty to, instead arguing for early release based on a “risk assessment score” suggesting he was unlikely to reoffend if released. The appeals court dismissed this argument, stating that the board had sufficient evidence to conclude that Wortman posed a substantial risk of noncompliance with release conditions.
Undeterred, Wortman filed a motion for post-conviction relief, arguing that he did not fully understand the terms of his plea agreement. He took issue with the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office arguing against his early release. The motion was eventually accepted on its merits by the Court of Criminal Appeals, which remanded a lower court to consider Wortman’s arguments.
In March 2025, the trial court heard Wortman’s post-conviction arguments, which were again opposed by the DA’s office. Last week, the judge upheld Wortman’s sentence. Wortman is scheduled for another parole hearing in September 2026, with his sentence set to be fully served by August 2040, according to Tennessee prison records.