Tennessee
Bills affecting TN justice system passed in 2024: Prison time, bail rules, mental health
While debates over the governor’s controversial private school voucher program and gun control often took center stage during the Tennessee General Assembly’s 2024 legislative session, lawmakers were spending much of their time from January to late April making changes to Tennessee’s criminal justice system.
The GOP-controlled supermajority kept up its tough-on-crime attitude by lengthening sentences, allowing more juveniles to be tried as adults and trying to expand when the death penalty can be imposed. In the wake of recent tragedies, lawmakers also passed measures aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence and requiring mental health treatment for some mentally incompetent defendants.
Here are some of the bills affecting the justice system, from arrest to sentencing, that the Assembly passed in 2024:
Jillian’s Law requires treatment for mentally incompetent defendants
Named in remembrance of Belmont University student Jillian Ludwig, who was killed by a stray bullet while on a walk in November, Jillian’s Law requires that people who are found mentally incompetent to stand trial for a felony be committed to a mental health facility for treatment. The man charged with firing the bullet that killed Ludwig had been arrested many times before and found by a court to be mentally incompetent.
The law also prohibits those who are committed to a mental health institution under the law from owning or possessing a firearm.
The bill received unanimous support in both chambers, although some lawmakers questioned whether the state has enough facilities to treat all the individuals required to be committed under the law.
Changes to prison sentences
Prison sentences will not be getting shorter in Tennessee.
As of now, people incarcerated in Tennessee prisons can earn credits called “good time” that can reduce the length of their sentences by up to 15%. Under a new law going into effect July 1, those serving a sentence of two years or more can earn good time, but it will only shorten when they can first go up for parole, leaving the full length of their sentence unchanged.
Another law allows judges to order people convicted of misdemeanors to serve 100% of their sentences in a correctional facility, up from the prior 75% maximum.
Those convicted of child rape could be sentenced to death
A bill on Gov. Bill Lee’s desk would allow juries to impose the death penalty when an adult is convicted of aggravated rape of a child under 12.
The bill passed through both GOP-controlled houses of the General Assembly mostly along party lines.
Supporters plan to use the bill to challenge a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision that prohibits capital punishment in cases where the victim did not die.
Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, worried that victims may be hesitant to report sexual assault knowing that it may result in an execution, particularly if the offense was perpetrated by a family member. Lee has indefinitely paused executions in Tennessee after a report found several issues with how the state puts the condemned to death.
Children in the justice system: Trying teens as adults, fining parents and recording interrogations
Lawmakers pushed through bills that change how juveniles interact with the justice system, including provisions that allow children above age 16 to receive both a juvenile sentence and a sentence of adult probation.
Under the bill, which awaits Lee’s signature, when someone age 16 or above is convicted of a crime that would be a class A, B or C felony if it was committed by an adult, then a judge can impose a period of probation to begin after they turn 18 and end at some point before they turn 25. Another law, already signed by Lee, will allow courts to try minors 15 and up as adults when they are of accused of organized retail crime or firearm theft.
Another bill on Lee’s desk called the Parental Accountability Act would impose a fine of $1,000 against the parents of a child who commits a second or subsequent offense. If the family can’t pay, a judge can require the parent or guardian to perform community service.
In July, a new law will go into effect requiring that interrogations of children accused of crimes be recorded by audio or video unless there is a technical issue with the recording equipment.
Wheels in motion to expand when bail can be denied
An effort to let judges deny bail in more cases made it through the first part of a multiyear process.
The General Assembly passed a resolution for an amendment to the Tennessee Constitution that would allow judges to deny bail to people charged with terrorism, murder, aggravated rape of a child, aggravated rape and grave torture. Under current law, judges can deny bail only in first-degree murder cases.
The measure was introduced to curb crime committed by defendants out on bail for other charges.
The proposed amendment will next have to be approved in 2025 or 2026 by a two-thirds vote of the legislature before going to voters. It would need 50% approval by popular vote in the 2026 gubernatorial election.
Law bars local traffic stop reform
A direct rebuke of reforms in Memphis in the wake of Tyre Nichols’ death, the legislature passed a law preventing local governments from enacting policies that limit what types of traffic stops police can make.
Nichols, a 29-year-old Black motorist, was fatally beaten by Memphis police officers during a traffic stop that police claimed was for reckless driving, although the city’s police chief later said she could not find any evidence of probable cause for the traffic stop.
In response, the Memphis City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting “pretextual” traffic stops — ones in which police use the pretense of a minor infraction like a broken taillight to search for evidence of other crimes without probable cause.
Police must tell feds if someone lacks legal immigration status
A new law requires law enforcement to communicate with the federal government if they learn that someone is in the country without legal status, and it also mandates that they cooperate with federal officials in the identification, apprehension, detention or removal of undocumented immigrants.
The law goes into effect July 1.
Officers have been only “authorized” to communicate with federal immigration authorities once learning of a defendant’s immigration status since the law was put on the books in 2018. Now that they are required, some law enforcement offices — including Nashville’s police department — worry it may erode trust among immigrant communities. Immigrant rights groups also say it permits racial profiling by police.
GPS monitors required for people accused of domestic violence
A bill awaiting signature says that courts must order people arrested for certain crimes of alleged domestic abuse to wear a GPS monitoring system as a condition of bail. The system would notify the alleged victim through a cellphone app or other electronic receptor if the defendant is within a proximity to them set by a judge. The judge must also enter a no contact order before the defendant is released on bail.
The bill is called the Debbie and Marie Domestic Violence Protection Act after Marie Varsos and her mother Debbie Sisco, who were killed by Varsos’ husband Shaun Varsos in April 2021. Shaun Varsos had been released on bail after Marie Varsos reported his domestic violence to police. Shaun Varsos took his own life after killing the two women.
Other changes
Here are a few other bills that passed:
- A conviction for prostitution no longer places the offender on the sex offender registry.
- The statute of limitations for a minor victim to sue for sex trafficking is now 30 years.
- The statute of limitations to sue for sexual assault of adults is now five or three years, depending on if the assault was reported to law enforcement.
- The Tennessee Department of Correction is required to report back to the legislature by the end of 2024 about an December 2023 audit that found several issues in state prisons, including understaffing and poor investigation of sexual abuse.
Contributing: Melissa Brown and Vivian Jones
Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EvanMealins.
RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WZTV) — Rutherford County Sheriff’s school resource officers recovered two loaded handguns from cars taking students and their dates to the high school prom.
The handguns were found in a student’s rental car at the La Vergne High School prom in Murfreesboro, and a car at the Stewarts Creek’s High School prom last week.
Trevor Carter, 19, a La Vergne High School student, and Deangelo Davis, 18, of Nashville, who attended Stewarts Creek High School prom with a student date were found with the handguns and Davis was found with marijuana as well.
A resource officer was checking vehicles for alcohol at the La Vergne prom venue and saw an AR-15 pistol with two loaded magazines on the floor of the car.
“I asked Trevor why he had the weapon and he told me it was for protection stating, ‘you never know when something could happen, someone could roll up on you anytime, when you’re with your mother, anywhere,’ showing intent to be armed,” the officer said.
His mother confirmed she knew the weapon was inside the vehicle.
At the Stewarts Creek High School prom, an officer saw an open bottle of whiskey and noticed a marijuana smell. He located Davis and his date and confiscated “the Glock 9mm handgun that contained one round in the chamber and eighteen additional rounds in an extended magazine that was in the handgun,” he said.
Davis told Beane the alcohol belonged to his date’s mother.
Carter, 19, was charged with possession of a weapon at a school function, and Davis, 18, was charged with carrying a weapon on school grounds and marijuana possession. Both were released on bond.
Tennessee
Alabama and Tennessee move to draw new congressional districts in wake of Supreme Court ruling
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Republican governors in Alabama and Tennessee have summoned lawmakers into special sessions this week seeking new congressional districts after the U.S. Supreme Court weakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.
Republican Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has called legislators back to Montgomery starting Monday to approve contingency plans for special primary elections in hopes that the Supreme Court will allow the state to switch congressional maps ahead of the November midterms. It’s a move that Republicans legislative leaders said would “give our state a fighting chance to send seven Republican members to Congress.” The seven-member delegation currently has two Democrats.
In Tennessee, Republican Gov. Bill Lee also announced a special session starting Tuesday for the GOP-controlled Legislature to break up the state’s one Democratic-held House district, centered on the majority-Black city of Memphis.
The Supreme Court decision striking down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana said the drawing of the district map relied too much on race. The ruling began reverberating through statehouses across the South as Republicans eyed the possibility of getting new lines in place for the 2026 midterm elections, or at least 2028.
President Donald Trump encouraged the latest round of redistricting in a post on social media on Sunday, saying his party could gain 20 seats in the House.
“We should demand that State Legislatures do what the Supreme Court says must be done,” Trump said. “That is more important than administrative convenience.”
Florida approved new districts the day of the Supreme Court ruling, and Louisiana moved quickly to postpone its May 16 congressional primary, drawing lawsuits from Democrats and civil rights groups. The state’s Republican leadership started planning for a redraw that could eliminate one or both of its congressional districts now represented by a Black lawmaker. South Carolina’s governor suggested his state might also reconsider its congressional map.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, described the court decision and the redistricting scramble as an attempt to roll back the Civil Rights Movement.
“They said we’re going to allow partisan politicians to gerrymander you, so that even when you show up, your voice won’t have as much impact because we’ll play with the lines,” he said Sunday from the pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. once served as pastor. “That isn’t a new method. That’s an old method. That’s a Jim Crow method.”
The Supreme Court ruling boosted an already intense national redistricting battle by providing Republican officials in some states potential new grounds to redraw voting districts.
Federal judges previously ordered Alabama to use a court-selected map with a second district with a substantial number of Black voters. The judges also ordered Alabama to use the new map until after the 2030 Census. Alabama is appealing that decision and is hoping the court, in light of the Louisiana ruling, will let Alabama revert to a 2023 map drawn by state lawmakers.
“As I continue saying, Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best,” Ivey said.
Tennessee’s move comes after a pressure campaign by Trump and other Republicans to reconfigure the state’s 9th Congressional District. Republicans have always been checkmated by the Voting Rights Act in their desire to spread the district’s Democratic voters around neighboring conservative districts and make it winnable, but the law may no longer be an impediment.
“We owe it to Tennesseans to ensure our congressional districts accurately reflect the will of Tennessee voters,” Lee said Friday. The move was encouraged by Trump, who wrote on social media Thursday that Lee had promised to work hard to give Republicans one extra seat.
The candidate qualifying period in Tennessee ended in March, and the primary election is scheduled for Aug. 6. Democrats noted that in 2022 the state Supreme Court checked additional redistricting because it was too close to an election. They argued that the court is their best hope this time around too.
“We cannot keep doing things like this and calling ourselves a democracy,” Democratic State Sen. Ramesh Akbari said at a news conference outside the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.
Alabama Democrats also sharply criticized the decision to try to change the maps ahead of looming elections.
“This special session is a blatant power grab by Republican leadership in Montgomery to eliminate seats held by Black Democrats,” said former Sen. Doug Jones, a Democratic candidate for Alabama governor.
Louisiana has suspended its May 16 congressional primary to allow time for lawmakers to approve new U.S. House districts, though that is being challenged in court.
Trump urged Texas Republicans last year to redraw U.S. House districts to give the party an advantage. Democrats in California responded by doing the same, then other states joined the battle. Lawmakers, commissions or courts have adopted new House districts in eight states.
___
Associated Press writers Jeff Amy, Bill Barrow, Jack Brook, Nicholas Riccardi and David A. Lieb contributed to this report.
Tennessee
Tennessee Football Lands Top 20 Spot in USA Today’s Post-Spring College Football Rankings | Rocky Top Insider
Spring football is well past wrapped up by now, with summer workouts standing in between now and training camp later in the fall. The 2026 college football season will be here before we know it as revamped rosters look to compete for the sport’s biggest prize next winter.
Tennessee Football has seen, and will see, plenty of major changes this offseason. For one, the Vols will have a new quarterback at the helm. Tennessee signal-caller Joey Aguilar didn’t win his court case for an additional year of eligibility, meaning that the Vols will roll into the season with a new starting quarterback. Redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, true freshman Faizon Brandon, and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub are all in the mix for that spot.
Another big change for UT this offseason is a retooled defensive staff and roster. On the coaching side of things, Tennessee brought in Jim Knowles to serve as the Vols’ defensive coordinator after letting go of Tim Banks. Knowles opted to keep Rodney Garner and William Inge in their respective spots and rounded out his staff with co-DC and safeties coach Anthony Poindexter, LEOs coach AJ Jackson, and cornerbacks coach Derek Jones. Tennessee has a few key returning starters on the defense, such as DL Daevin Hobbs, LB Arion Carter, and CB Ty Redmond, but the Vols also brought in several players through the portal to compete for starting and rotational spots.
With spring slates over with, USA Today decided to rank all 138 FBS programs heading into the summer. Paul Myerberg has Tennessee coming in at No. 18 in the country, one spot behind Arizona and one spot above Houston.
Tennessee lands as the eighth highest-ranked SEC team on the list, behind No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Georgia, No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 12 Alabama, No. 13 Ole Miss, and No. 16 LSU. Other notable in-conference teams include No. 35 Vanderbilt, No. 38 Florida, No. 43 Missouri, and No. 94 Kentucky. The lowest-ranked SEC team is No. 109 Arkansas.
Based on 2025 win-loss records, Tennessee Football has the 20th-toughest schedule in the nation in 2026. Additionally, the Vols’ path is the 11th-toughest among SEC teams. Tennessee will have five home SEC games and four road SEC games this season as part of the conference’s new nine-game slate. The Vols will also hit the road to take on Georgia Tech in the second week of the season.
Here’s a look at the Vols’ schedule next fall:
- Sept. 5 – vs Furman
- Sept. 12 – at Georgia Tech
- Sept. 19 – vs Kennesaw State
- Sept. 26 – vs Texas
- Oct. 3 – vs Auburn
- Oct. 10 – at Arkansas
- Oct. 17 – vs Alabama
- Oct. 24 – at South Carolina
- Oct. 31 – OPEN
- Nov. 7 – vs Kentucky
- Nov. 14 – at Texas A&M
- Nov. 21 – vs LSU
- Nov. 28 – at Vanderbilt
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Some important questions will begin to be answered when Tennessee returns to the field for fall training camp in August. For one, which quarterback separates themselves from the pack and starts the first game of the season? Additionally, how quickly can Tennessee’s new-look roster pick up Jim Knowles’ defensive scheme?
One other important thing that’ll be happening behind the scenes is how Tennessee looks after a full offseason in Derek Owings’ strength and conditioning program. Owings joined Tennessee’s staff this offseason after helping Indiana win last year’s national championship, and is widely looked upon as one of, if not the best, in the business at what he does.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Football offseason coverage.
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