After revisions, General Assembly OKS controversial ‘truth in sentencing’ bill
A controversial criminal justice bill that would effectively lengthen some prison sentences in Tennessee cleared the General Assembly on Thursday, a day after legislators made last-minute adjustments to assuage concerns from Gov. Bill Lee.
Republican leadership carried the bill, which supporters called “truth in sentencing” legislation to mandate people convicted of a number of felonies serve 100% of a sentence, eliminating eligibility for parole through good behavior or programming credits.
The legislation sparked strong pushback from criminal justice advocates who warned the bill could balloon prison populations in an already understaffed system and trigger safety issues by removing early release incentives designed for rehabilitation.
The General Assembly and Lee’s office locked heads over the issue this week as Republicans initially slashed a $150 million budget item Lee proposed for a Violent Crime Intervention Fund.
The sentencing bill is one of several that could roll back some criminal justice reforms the governor pushed last year, and legislative estimates on the bill’s price tag have differed widely from Tennessee Department of Correction estimates.
House and Senate committees on Wednesday passed last-minute amendments to the legislation, cutting the list of felonies required to serve 100% by more than half. The remainder would be eligible for early release at 85% of the sentence served by earning programming credits.
“Right now when we say someone is sentenced to 10 years, that 10 years could literally be a year and a half or it could be 8 years,” said Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-bristol. “The message is Tennessee is really tough on crime. I think that’s a very effective deterrent and, policy wise, important for us to communicate.”
Lundberg indicated Lee wasn’t necessarily pleased with the bill but amenable to the changes. In a budget passed on Thursday, Republicans added back $100 million for the crime intervention fund, specifically earmarking it for local law enforcement.
Senate Democrats and two Republicans voted against the bill, which opponents argue is an outdated approach to incarceration.
“While it sounds tough on crime, there’s just not evidence that it works,” said Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro, D-nashville. “Fundamentally, it also goes against what we’re trying to achieve. We know when we send people to prison, most of them are going to come back out and re-enter our society. We want to decrease the likelihood they return to a life of crime.”
One of the country’s oldest conservative advocacy groups urged Republican leadership to reject the legislation this week, warning that reducing incentives runs counter to anti-recidivism programs. The American Conservative Union joined local conservative groups, criminal justice advocates and faith organizations in opposition to the bill, which opponents also worry could balloon prison costs if additional capacity is needed in the future.
Leadership batted down the criticism, though they said they were working with Lee to ease his concerns about the bill.
Lindsay Holloway, founder of a ministry program that runs a 12-month reentry home program to formerly incarcerated women, said Thursday she is concerned with the bill.
Holloway is formerly incarcerated herself and said she benefited from classes and services she was incentivized to complete while in prison, and she sees how those incentives help women coming out of the system now.
“They already have a sense of accomplishment, and we’re able to build on the foundation that the woman already built while they were incarcerated,” Holloway said. “And I feel like if they were to take away the incentives, the majority of people are not going to take the classes because they don’t need to or they don’t feel they need to.” Liam Adams contributed to this report.
Reach Melissa Brown at mabrown@tennessean.com.