Tennessee

Restoring voting rights after a felony is rare in Tennessee. The process has gotten harder. – Stateline

Published

2 years ago

January 2, 2024

Restoring voting rights after a felony is rare in Tennessee. The process has gotten harder. – Stateline

This story originally appeared in the Tennessee Lookout.

Janiqua Thompson was in her early 20s when she began stealing from the hotel she worked for. Her motivation was to catch up on bills to support her mother and three younger brothers, but her felony conviction only added more financial strain. She spent a day in jail and three years on probation, faced $20,000 in restitution fees and lost her voting rights.

“I made a decision that impacted my family way worse than I thought it would,” Thompson, now 28, said. “I let a temporary circumstance control my future.”

With her probation behind her and a 3-year-old daughter to raise, Thompson wants to regain her voting rights. She wants a say in the leaders shaping her country and community and to feel like a full citizen again. But now, along with the more than 470,000 Tennesseans with felony convictions excluded from the polls, she faces a voting rights restoration process made more difficult in recent months.

“I would love to have a voice,” Thompson said. “I just want to be able to change things for my kid.”

In at least 35 states, those with felony convictions can vote again after their full sentence is complete, and several states have eased the path to voting rights restoration in recent years. But in Tennessee, where financial and logistical hurdles already prevent many from regaining their rights, the process has become harder. In July, Tennessee officials issued new guidance mandating that instead of choosing between two paths of restoration, those with felony convictions would need to complete both.

Nearly 10% of the voting population in Tennessee is excluded from the polls because of felony convictions, a rate second only to Mississippi and one that especially affects people of color. One in 5 Black Tennessee residents is unable to vote because of a felony conviction, the highest rate in the nation.

“Some folks, they just don’t want to have to relitigate anything about their case again,” says Keeda Haynes, a legal adviser for Free Hearts. John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout

“We have already had, before this new rule, the most complex voter restoration laws of any state,” said Dawn Harrington, founder of Free Hearts in Nashville, which supports families navigating incarceration. “This is a huge obstacle that has been put in front of us.”

The Tennessee Secretary of State’s office reported that nearly 3,350 Tennesseans regained their voting rights since 2018, which is less than 1% of those disenfranchised with a felony conviction who have completed their sentences.

The new guidance has further slowed the pace of restoration but has also spurred a new sense of urgency around the issue. Free Hearts and other reentry support groups have begun collaborating across the state to educate more attorneys on the process and to push harder for action from lawmakers and Republican Gov. Bill Lee.

“This is a big moment for shining the light on a process that has long been broken,” Blair Bowie, a director at Washington, D.C.-based Campaign Legal Center, said. “This new guidance really exposes just how big of a problem Tennessee has with felony disenfranchisement.”

‘There is no process in place’

For decades, Tennesseans with felony convictions could regain voting rights by receiving a pardon or by restoring their citizenship rights in court. In 2006, lawmakers added another alternative: complete a certificate verifying all legal debts were paid and child support was up to date. Tennessee Elections Coordinator Mark Goins cited a June Tennessee Supreme Court decision in recently declaring that the two existing paths are both required.

Tennessee Supreme Court rules in felony voting rights case

The 2006 option had become the preferred path for Tennesseans seeking to restore their voting rights. The citizenship restoration process, now step one, can take several months and typically requires help from an attorney. Lawyers often gather dozens of pages of documentation to present to the judge, including letters of recommendation and certificates from programs completed during incarceration. Prosecutors can again testify against an individual, and approval is up to a judge’s discretion, which can be intimidating for many who were previously convicted. A court appearance also means new court fees. In Memphis and in Nashville, the amount is about $160.

“Some folks, they just don’t want to have to relitigate anything about their case again. They don’t want to have to stand in judgment again,” said Keeda Haynes, a Free Hearts legal adviser in Nashville. “It can be very triggering for folks.” She added, “People are not going to have the money for the filing fees and people are not going to have the money to pay a lawyer.”

Few online resources are available on how to file a petition for citizenship restoration. Staff at the Davidson County Circuit Court Clerk’s office said petition forms were not yet available but they could be drawn up. In more rural Coffee and Benton counties, circuit court staff did not have information on how to proceed with the citizenship restoration petition.

When Shelby County Office of Re-Entry Director DeAndre Brown sought to help his Memphis clients with voting rights ahead of the recent city elections, he found few officials could advise him on the citizenship petition process. He created a court filing form that Thompson and others used to file for a court date and a Memphis nonprofit agreed to pay the court fees.

“We reached out to the clerk’s office and the (district attorney’s) office and no one was really sure on what to do,” Brown said. “Really, there is no process in place, no standard that people can just look to. Everyone has questions and since they have questions, no one really wants to do it the wrong way. So, people just didn’t do it.”

The cost of voting rights

If Thompson gains a judge’s approval for citizenship, she will then have to complete the second part of the voter restoration process by certifying her legal debts have been paid. While she said she feels confident going before a judge again, she is less certain on how she will cover the more than $1,000 in court debt and any restitution or probation fees still owed. She said she made payments during her probation by waiting tables and turning to family and friends for support. The amount owed could not be confirmed through multiple calls to probation authorities.

“I just basically worked as much as I could,” Thompson said “It was really hell. I’m still getting my life together, even now.”

Tennessee is one of about 10 states that tie voting rights to legal financial obligations and it is the only state that requires child support payments are up to date, according to 2022 research by the Sentencing Project. For some individuals, the debt owed is insurmountable and can be as high as six figures, Harrington said. Many formerly incarcerated individuals, because of their convictions, struggle to find work and to cover the cost of basic needs like housing, food and transportation, making legal costs especially challenging to resolve.

Beyond the requirements, the process itself poses hurdles to individuals and is the subject of a federal lawsuit filed against Tennessee. In the 2022 complaint, plaintiffs described the process as “a wild-goose chase” and demanded new safeguards to ensure a uniform and responsive system.

Tennessee Attorney General moves to shut down suit by NAACP over restoration of voting rights

For each felony conviction, individuals must gain signatures from a parole or probation officer, and sometimes a county court clerk, whose willingness and training varies by county. If restoration is denied, there is no appeals process. For those with out-of-state convictions, completing the restoration documents can mean road trips, plane flights or multiple days off work. Several convictions, including murder and rape, are permanently disqualified.

“It’s so inaccessible and opaque and error ridden,” said Bowie, who is representing the plaintiffs in the 2022 federal lawsuit. “The process is just a huge mess.”

Law students who had begun helping Tennessee clients pursue the 2006 certificate process prior to the new guidance, have begun also compiling lengthy citizenship petitions for those who still want to move forward and more legal groups are joining these efforts, said Joy Radice, director of University of Tennessee’s Legal Clinic in Knoxville. A pro bono attorney who might have helped 10 clients at clinics now is likely to focus on just one.

“We have definitely had to be strategic about slowly helping a smaller number of clients because of this change,” Radice said. “From our clients’ perspective, it’s extremely discouraging.”

Since July, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s office has recorded 40 denials for voting rights restoration and one approval. About 35 Tennesseans have gained voting rights by expunging their convictions, a process available to some felonies after certain time periods. Hargett’s office declined to comment on the new voting rights guidance because of the ongoing litigation.

Still, Radice is heartened by the response she has seen from legal leaders and activists since July. The Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission is launching a pilot project on civil rights restoration in January and has begun training law students and attorneys for the project. Free Hearts continues a letter writing campaign on the issue and brought together advocates from across the state in September to determine next steps.

“It feels like there is more energy, and my hope is that that will lead to attention that will lead to legislative change,” Radice said.

‘We need the governor to act’

Harrington is looking directly to Lee for action. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, also a Republican, issued an executive order in 2020 restoring voting rights for those with felony convictions who completed their sentences, with the exception of homicide offenses. Harrington discussed the concept with members of Lee’s and Reynolds’ staff in March and said Lee’s officials seemed receptive to the concept. That was before the Secretary of State’s office made the voting process more challenging.

“We need the governor to act,” Harrington said.

Lee, who has long pushed for criminal justice reform and reentry support, said in October he is not considering an executive order, but he encouraged Tennessee lawmakers to discuss potential changes to voting rights laws.

“At least have the conversation, make sure that the General Assembly is engaged in that,” Lee said. “It’s much more appropriate to use the process of legislation to do that.”

For voting rights advocates, reversing the new guidance from Goins legislatively is imperative, but it is just the minimum of fixes needed in Tennessee. “A bill that just goes back to the system we had [before the new law] is not enough,” Bowie said.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have sought changes to the restoration process for years. In 2019, two Republican lawmakers unsuccessfully pushed to reinstate voting rights for those who completed their sentences, regardless of their ability to pay civil or criminal fees, and to streamline the process of restoration. Similar legislation was introduced in 2021 and 2023 by Democrat lawmakers, including State Sen. Raumesh Akbari.

“Your financial situation should not impact your ability to vote and exercise your voice,” Akbari said. “We have talked about the power of redemption and the purpose of the justice system. Surely, someone should not have to be abridged to their right to vote for the rest of their lives.”

Some victims’ rights advocates disagree that the path to restoration should be eased. Verna Wyatt, co-founder of Tennessee Voices for Victims, supports those who have been able to restore their rights through the current process, but she also wants individuals with felony convictions to have to gain approval after a certain period of time following their conviction.

“People should be able to earn back their voting rights. I don’t think it should be something that is automatic.” Wyatt said, speaking for herself and not her organization. “They broke trust with the community and, many times, they broke trust in a very, very big way. That’s part of accountability and consequences.”

Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton said he would need more details on potential legislation before determining his support. He disagreed with the term “disenfranchisement” to describe those who lost their vote because of a felony offense.

“They disenfranchised themselves by committing the crime,” Sexton said. “I don’t consider the state disenfranchising them when they are the ones who committed the crime.”

Although her probation sentence is behind her, Thompson says she still faces the ramifications of her crime whenever she applies for a job or a rental to live in. Voting rights is one more consequence she wants to move past.

“My mistake was done seven years ago,” Thompson said. “It’s really an ongoing battle. You start to wonder, when are they going to stop punishing us?”

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a national nonprofit news organization.

Source link

Click to comment

Tennessee

‘I was horrified’: Parents describe inappropriate interactions on Roblox, Tennessee AG files lawsuit against the company

Published

6 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

‘I was horrified’: Parents describe inappropriate interactions on Roblox, Tennessee AG files lawsuit against the company

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – When Savannah Bishop’s 13-year-old got into Roblox, it seemed innocent enough to her.

“The game itself, it’s a pretty cool interface,” Bishop said. “They can go in, and they can play all sorts of little sub games, and some of them are very innocent. The one that my kid was into at the time was pretending you’re a pizza delivery driver.”

But she started hearing some concerning things about the online gaming platform, so she sat down with her son to take a look for herself.

“It took maybe 10 minutes or so for the first obvious adult to be questioning me about things like where I went to school and what kind of stuff I was into, and if I had any other apps, you know, they try to get you on stuff like Telegram or WhatsApp, Snapchat,” she said.

Bishop was logged into her child’s account which she says was clearly marked as belonging to a 13-year-old boy. As she explored the game even more, she says the messages she saw shocked her.

“I was absolutely horrified,” she said. “They were discussing the possibility, right off the bat, of doing pretty lewd sexual acts with a profile that’s marked as a child. There was another one that had a profile that was marked as, I believe, a 14-year-old girl, but it obviously wasn’t because then ‘she’ started talking about, you know, her size and if she was going to be able to drive to meet my child.”

She kept searching only to find sub-games, called “experiences” in the app, with lewd theming and tasks she found inappropriate.

“They’re able, they’re encouraged, in fact, to perform sexual acts,” Bishop said. “They’re encouraged to commit crimes. Like some will say, ‘If you can steal this person’s wallet, then you’ll get so many points,’ you know, or ‘If you can beat up this this old lady…’”

Bishop says she reported the chats to Roblox, but never heard anything back.

“I just don’t feel like they’ve tried hard enough to circumvent them, because I did report all of the users that were interacting with my child in a way that wasn’t appropriate. Nothing came of it.”

The lawsuit

It’s stories like this that sparked Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to file a lawsuit against Roblox, claiming that the company’s “deceptive and unfair business practices” are putting Tennessee kids at risk.

“Roblox is the digital equivalent of a creepy cargo van lingering at the edge of a playground,” Skrmetti said in a press release announcing the filing.

The lawsuit, filed this week, claims the game creates an environment where predators can “readily hunt, groom and sexually exploit minors.” It argues the company is violating the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977 by marketing itself as safe for kids despite numerous examples of child endangerment on the platform.

The lawsuit lays out the game’s reach, averaging 151.5 million daily active users in the third quarter of 2025, up 50 percent from the same time last year. According to the filing, over two thirds of the game’s daily users are under the age of 16.

It also details several “experiences” on the app that are accessible to children, including virtual strip clubs, sex rooms, and ones titled “Escape to Epstein Island” and “Diddy Party.” Other available mini games include some with racist messaging and one that simulates a mass shooting in a hospital.

The lawsuit acknowledges multiple restrictions imposed by Roblox in 2024 in an attempt to prevent children from seeing inappropriate content on the game, but argues the restrictions are easy for kids to get around.

Plus, it argues that because the game has virtually no age verification policies, it’s easy for kids to lie about how old they are.

The AG’s office is working with J. Gerard Stranch, IV, a founding and managing member of the Nashville-based firm Stranch, Jennings & Garvey, PLLC, to prosecute.

“We are proud to stand with the Attorney General in this fight to protect Tennessee families,” Stranch said. “Roblox has had nearly 20 years to fix these obvious safety flaws. Instead, they have chosen to profit from a system that monetizes the very interactions that put children at risk by ignoring these very serious flaws in the platform.”

Roblox responds

Roblox’s Chief Safety Officer Matt Kauffman responded to the lawsuit in a statement, saying it “fundamentally misrepresents” the game.

“This lawsuit fundamentally misrepresents Roblox and how it works. Roblox is built with safety at its core, and we continue to evolve and strengthen our protections every day. We have advanced safeguards that monitor our platform for harmful content and communications. Users cannot send or receive images via chat, eliminating one of the most prevalent opportunities for misuse seen elsewhere online. Safety is a constant and consistent focus of our work, and we are currently rolling out additional measures to further limit who users can chat with. We take swift action against anyone found to violate our safety rules and work closely with law enforcement to support investigations and help hold bad actors accountable.
As a dad, I know there is no finish line when it comes to protecting kids, and while no system can be perfect, our commitment to safety never ends. Parents can visit our Safety Center to learn more about our safety work and ways to keep their children safe online: roblox.com/safetycenter.”

The company said that it has multiple safety measures in place and that its policies are purposefully stricter than other social networks and user-generated content platforms.

It also said Roblox does not allow image sharing in the chat feature, which is also subject to filters that are designed to block personal information sharing.

“We constantly monitor communication for critical harms and swiftly remove violative content when detected and work closely with law enforcement,” Roblox said.

Additionally, Roblox said it recognizes the wide-spread issue of age verification, and that it recently announced that the company would be rolling out age estimation technology globally by the end of the year.

“Roblox works closely with law enforcement, government agencies, mental health organizations, and parental advocacy groups to create resources for parents and to keep users safe on the platform,” the company said. “For example, we maintain direct communication channels with organizations, such as the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), for immediate escalation of serious threats that we identify.”

Protecting your kids online

In 2025, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received more than 21,000 cyber tips from social media companies.

“A lot of people hear that word cyber tip and they just think, ‘Oh, it’s just a tip,’” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the task force Robert Burghardt. “These are actually cases of either children and or subjects in the state of Tennessee that are either being harmed and or are harming other children.”

He says the biggest concern for parents should be online communication and chatting apps.

“Any social media app or platform out there where you can communicate, then a child is potentially in danger of being harmed,” Burghardt said. “These people know what to say to kids. There’s scripts out there that tell what to say for certain age groups.”

Burghardt travels to schools across the state talking to children about the dangers of online chatting.

“Pretty much every school that I’ve talked to, there’s either a child that gets up and leaves crying, and or comes to me afterwards saying, ‘Hey, this is happening to me,’” he said. “They just don’t know. They just feel alone. A lot of times they feel trapped. They keep it inside, because the last thing they want to do is go and tell their parents.”

Burghardt says predators often find kids on gaming apps like Roblox or Fortnite and convince them to start messaging on other apps with less restrictions like Snapchat or Discord.

He says the conversations can devolve into sending and receiving inappropriate images, and AI is only making things more complicated.

“With just one click, all of a sudden turn that innocent photo of the child into a nude photograph, send that to that child and say, ‘Hey, we have your nude. You might as well send us more or give us money,’” Burghardt said. “Unfortunately, we deal with the suicides with sextortion among kids. To them, it’s the scariest and the worst time of their life. Knowing that their images are possibly out there, you know, being shared forever.”

To protect your kids, Burghardt recommends eliminating or seriously limiting the online chatting availability to your kids. Many social media and gaming apps, including Roblox, have parental controls that allow you to disable chatting functions.

He also says it’s important to always know what your kids are doing on their devices.

“These social media companies know exactly what your kids are doing online all the time, so why can’t you as a parent?” he said. “You have that power. You can take that phone.”

After what she saw on Roblox, Bishop now only allows her kids to play the game on a shared device with direct adult supervision.

“Their friends are getting to play it, and it really sucks as a parent because you don’t want your child to be othered or feel left out,” Bishop said. “I always tell my kids, too, ‘I’m not judging you because I have no idea how I would have handled it if this type of technology had been available when I was a teenager.’ I try to approach it as me and them against the dangers and against the problem rather than me against them as the problem.”

Source link

Tennessee

Jelly Roll granted pardon by Tennessee governor in Christmas season clemency decision

Published

18 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Jelly Roll granted pardon by Tennessee governor in Christmas season clemency decision

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee pardoned country star Jelly Roll on Thursday, clearing the Nashville native’s felony convictions in the state.

“His story is remarkable, and it’s a redemptive, powerful story, which is what you look for and what you hope for,” Lee told local reporters, according to The Associated Press.

Lee and Jelly Roll shared a hug in front of a lit Christmas tree and a fireplace decorated with holiday garlands.

JELLY ROLL UNVEILS DRAMATIC TRANSFORMATION WITHOUT SIGNATURE BEARD AFTER WEIGHT LOSS

Gov. Bill Lee, left, giving country musician Jelly Roll news of his official pardon Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, at the Tennessee Governor’s Mansion in Oak Hill, Tenn. (Brandon Hull/Office of Gov. Bill Lee via AP)

The Grammy-nominated artist was one of 33 people to receive pardons from Lee, who for years has issued clemency decisions around the Christmas season.

State officials said Jelly Roll’s request underwent the same months-long thorough review as those of other applicants, with the Tennessee Board of Parole issuing a nonbinding, unanimous recommendation in April.

Jelly Roll’s criminal record includes robbery and drug-related felony convictions.

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Lee and Jelly Roll shared a hug in front of a lit Christmas tree and a fireplace decorated with holiday garlands. (Brandon Hull/Office of Gov. Bill Lee via AP)

He has said receiving a pardon would make it easier to travel internationally for concert tours and to perform Christian missionary work without having to navigate extensive paperwork tied to his past convictions.

Friends and civic leaders rallied behind the musician in an outpouring of support for his application, underscoring how far he has come since serving time behind bars.

Lee said he had never met Jelly Roll until Thursday, when the artist visited the governor’s mansion following the pardon announcement.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Unlike some recent high-profile federal pardons that have freed inmates from prison, Tennessee’s pardon process is about forgiveness, not release. It applies only after a sentence has been served and can help restore certain civil rights, including the right to vote, though limits remain, and the governor controls the terms.

Jelly Roll, whose legal name is Jason DeFord, is seen speaking to inmates at the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office Annex in Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 25, 2025. (Reginald Scott/Nashville-Davidson County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

Jelly Roll previously testified before the U.S. Senate about the dangers of fentanyl, describing his drug-dealing younger self as “the uneducated man in the kitchen playing chemist with drugs I knew absolutely nothing about.”

“I was a part of the problem,” he told lawmakers at the time. “I am here now standing as a man that wants to be a part of the solution.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

In the 2023 documentary “Jelly Roll: Save Me,” he revealed he’s been to jail about 40 times for various offenses. His most serious charge came when he was 16, for aggravated robbery and possession with intent to sell. Jelly Roll was tried as an adult and faced up to 20 years in prison but ended up serving a little more than a year, and seven years of probation.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Jelly Roll and Gov. Lee for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Stephanie Giang-Paunon is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to stephanie.giang@fox.com and on Twitter: @SGiangPaunon.

Source link

Tennessee

Tennessee attorney general files lawsuit against Roblox

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee attorney general files lawsuit against Roblox

Enter your email and we’ll send a secure one-click link to sign in.

WKRN is provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., and uses the My Nexstar sign-in, which works across our media network.

Learn more at nexstar.tv/privacy-policy.

WKRN is provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., and uses the My Nexstar sign-in, which works across our media network.

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is a leading, diversified media company that produces and distributes engaging local and national news, sports, and entertainment content across its television and digital platforms. The My Nexstar sign-in works across the Nexstar network—including The CW, NewsNation, The Hill, and more. Learn more at nexstar.tv/privacy-policy.

Source link