TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Jarod Word on Apr 13, 2021

The Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee today will consider a bill seeking harsher sentences for minors convicted of sex crimes, the Commercial Appeal reports. Under HB0323/SB0220, TCA Title 37, Chapter 1, Part 1 and Title 39, Chapter 13, would be amended to allow judicial discretion on placing juveniles convicted of rape and aggravated rape into the custody of the Department of Children's Services for a period of one year. Sponsored by Rep. Jason Hodges, D-Clarksville, and Sen. Bill Powers, R-Clarksville, the proposed amendment comes in response to a case where the parents of a minor in these lawmakers’ district were forced to endure laughter and lack of remorse from the 13-year-old offenders in a court hearing regarding the recorded rape of their daughter. Rep. Hodges commended the girl’s courage, saying: "being able to come out and talk about (the rape), knowing that it's not going to change her circumstances, but being willing to do it to change somebody else’s ... that just makes her a hero in this story.” The House passed its version of the bill last week by a vote of 91-0.