TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jan 12, 2022

Tennessee’s legislature is expected to consider major changes to the state’s criminal sentencing guidelines in the new session, WPLN reports. At the center of the debate is the myriad of laws that contain different parole eligibility standards for different crimes. House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, reportedly plans to propose a bill that would eliminate early release for the most serious crimes, and limit the options judges have for other offenses. He argues that victims should have greater certainty as to when offenders will be released. By contrast, Gov. Bill Lee’s 2019 criminal justice task force urged legislators to rewrite the sentencing code to reduce the number in lockup. Juvenile justice advocates also are fighting a state law that requires teens to serve at least 51 years in prison before they can seek release. A suit challenging that law is set to go before the state Supreme Court in February.