TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Knox DA Shares Concerns Over Bill That Would Adjust Conditions of Life Sentence

Posted by: Kate Prince on Oct 29, 2021

Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen is expressing concern over proposed legislation that would alter the length of a life sentence in Tennessee, WATE.com reports. State law defines a life sentence as 60 years, with the possibility of parole after serving 85%, or 51 years. House Bill 1532/Senate Bill 0561 would allow parole eligibility after 60% of a life sentence is served, or 36 years. Allen says she’s worried the new bill would allow those who have committed first-degree murder to be released even earlier if they earn certain credits. Though the bill does require a 25-year minimum sentence, Allen believes a life sentence “should mean more than 25 years.” She says a fiscal note from the state shows the bill would impact 1,600 inmates and would also have a retroactive effect, which would allow inmates to become eligible for parole decades before victims’ families were expecting. The fiscal note estimates the bill would save the state $1.2 million in the first year and $2.46 million for the following nine years.

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