TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Apr 22, 2022

A criminal justice bill that would effectively lengthen some prison sentences in Tennessee cleared the General Assembly yesterday after legislators made last-minute adjustments to assuage concerns from Gov. Bill Lee, the Tennessean reports. The so-called "truth in sentencing" legislation originally mandated that people convicted of certain felonies serve 100% of their sentences, eliminating eligibility for parole through good behavior or programming credits. Lee had expressed concerns that the bill would roll back some of the reforms he pushed last year. Last minute changes cut the list of felonies subject to the bill’s requirements in half and reduced the time to be served to 85% of the sentence for the remaining crimes.