TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Sep 9, 2022

Gov. Bill Lee was in Memphis today, following a week of violent crimes that shook the city, the Commercial Appeal reports. Lee praised Memphis-area law enforcement officers for their work then took aim at "convenient plea deals," and called for more cops on the streets, more funding for police departments and stiffer penalties for violent offenders. “Plea deals have real consequences ... and those consequences were on full display Wednesday night,” Lee said, referencing a night of shootings by an individual who had previously been released early from prison. It is “time to have a conversation about plea deals.” Tennessee's top Republican legislative leaders also weighed in on the situation this week, pledging to double down on the state’s new "Truth in Sentencing" law and press new measures targeting violent crimes. The Times Free Press has that story.