The Tennessee criminal justice system should keep communities safe, treat people fairly, use fiscal resources wisely, and put an end to the "school-to-prison pipeline". I fully endorse the main principles of criminal justice reform in addressing:
- The cost of mass incarcerations,
- The bureaucracy within the system itself,
- Alternatives to low-level offenses and technical infractions, and
- Refocusing our efforts on public safety and violent crime.
Currently, Tennessee spends $1 billion per year operating the correctional system making it the fifth most expensive program in the budget. We can do better. If there is an issue I have not addressed below, please email your questions or concerns to me at darren@darrenjernigan.com and I will do my best to address them.
Marcy's Law
Marsy's Law is named after a 21-year-old college senior who was murdered in 1983. It was written as a result of the experiences her brother and parents faced after her murder when they were often treated as though they had no rights. Currently, under the Tennessee Constitution, those accused and convicted of a crime are granted specific rights and protections, while victims of a crime and their families ARE NOT given these equal rights.
I am a co-sponsor of HJR822 seeking to amend the Tennessee State Constitution to guarantee that victims of a crime and their families are notified of hearings, proceedings, releases or escapes, be protected from the accused, be afforded full and timely restitution, be able to confer with the government’s attorney and be provided information on all of these rights.
The proposed Amendment would guarantee that, in the criminal and juvenile justice systems, victims' rights and the rights of their families will be protected, becoming equal to the rights of the accused.
Incarceration
The legislature has been focusing on criminal justice reform, especially around incarceration, which has seen the corrections budget soar to $1 billion. The Covid-19 virus may have just accelerated the much-needed criminal justice reform in Tennessee.
Incarceration reform has focused on how to reduce the population in jails, provide alternatives to incarceration and re-evaluate policies and practices that keep people in prison after they have earned a chance to get out. COVID-19 has put a spotlight on the risk that inmates and correction officers alike face in contracting the virus. For instance, the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center found 1,300 inmates (53%) and 50 staff testing positive for COVID-19.
Since the COVID-19 crisis began, hundreds of Tennessee inmates have been released because of sheriffs working with defense attorneys and prosecutors working with judges to reduce the populations in local lockups. Probate boards have revisited the cases of prison inmates who were granted parole but were never released due to the bureaucracy of additional requirements for classes and treatment that were not always available. The Tennessee Supreme Court ordered judges across the state to develop plans to release inmates and keep new defendants out of confinement, especially for low level charges.
These practices are an example of a commonsense approach to problem solving that can have a significant impact on human lives, unnecessary spending in state budget and reducing the spread of COVID-19.
There is absolutely no reason why we cannot continue these types of practices when the virus runs its course and we return to normal life. My goal is to see the results of the recent changes in policy and determine if there is legislation to file that would be appropriate to progress the most beneficial approach.
Private Prisons
CoreCivic, formally known as Corrections Corporation of America, is a for-profit business that operates four state prisons in Tennessee. Under state law only one prison in Tennessee can be operated by a private company. However, three counties entered contracts with CoreCivic, the company built a prison in each of these counties and the counties then sub-contracted with the state, effectively creating a loophole around the state law. Each year the state pays CoreCivic millions of dollars to manage these four prisons.
An audit of CoreCivic released last year conducted between October 1, 2017 through July 31st 2019, found that the for-profit prison was not running at standard staff levels, inmates with mental health conditions we're not getting help, and 200 inmates had died in custody since 2017.
CoreCivic leadership failed to provide adequate oversight which resulted in a failure to operate safe and secure prisons. CoreCivic officials were scolded for not properly importing vital data related to inmate deaths, inmate assaults, correctional officers use of force and facility lockdowns. Additionally, showers were not kept in working order.
CoreCivic continually fights any sort of transparency. You cann0t run a prison properly when shareholders are more important than the prison population being served. It is time we end for-profit operators in our prisons and turn it back over to state control.
Decriminalization
While necessary and impactful, the decades-long "War on Drugs" has resulted in harsh sentencing laws and has contributed to one of the highest rates of mass incarcerations in the world. Someone is arrested for a marijuana offense every 48 seconds. There were 663,367 marijuana arrests in the country in 2018, and 92% of these arrests were for marijuana possession only - not for sale or manufacturing. In the U.S., there are more arrests for marijuana possession each year than for all violent crimes combined.
It is a crime to possess marijuana in Tennessee. For a first conviction, penalties include up to a year in jail, a fine of $250 to $2,500 or both. It is also illegal to "causally exchange" (that is, to give away or sell) up to and including one half of an ounce of marijuana. In addition, a judge may order the defendant to participate (at defendant's expense) in a drug offender school, perform community service hours or both.
I will be introducing legislation making it not a criminal offense for a person to intentionally possess marijuana in an amount less than one (1) ounce (28.35 grams). The offender will be responsible for paying a $50 civil fine.