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.

Throughout 2024, strike-throwing was one thing Vanderbilt baseball could hang its hat on.

The Commodores generally have had one of the top strike-throwing pitching staffs in the SEC. That wasn’t the case in a weekend sweep at Georgia. They walked 22, hit nine batters and struck out just 12. Every pitcher who entered allowed a run.

Nine of the 11 pitchers who made an appearance this season had thrown more than 60% strikes going into the series, led by JD Thompson at 69%. No pitcher threw more than 60% strikes in any individual outing this weekend.

The offense wasn’t much better. Vanderbilt had just three hits in a 10-0, seven-inning loss on Friday, and lost 14-4 on Saturday. Only on Sunday, in an 11-7 loss, did the offense pack much of a punch.

The Commodores (32-16, 11-13 SEC) face Tennessee this weekend (May 10-12). They have lost their past five SEC games and need two more wins to safely be in a regional.

Here’s what we learned from the weekend.

Quality starts an indicator

A quality start is when a pitcher throws six or more innings in a game and allows three earned runs or fewer. Vanderbilt pitchers have recorded nine quality starts in SEC play, going 8-1. In all other SEC games, the Commodores are 3-12.

They have struggled to win when the starter cannot give both length and quality. No starter lasted longer than three innings against Georgia (35-12, 13-11).

In the second and third games, the Commodores had chances to come back, but the bullpen struggled to stop any of the bleeding. Miller Green was the best bullpen performer, allowing only one run in three innings Sunday. With one strikeout and no walks, he was the only pitcher who struck out more batters than he walked.

Austin, Kozeal lead sluggish offense

Although the offense gave a poor performance overall, two players who had been slumping had breakout weekends.

RJ Austin, who had been hitting .261 in SEC play, put up two hits in each of the three games, though five of those six hits were singles. The performance raised his conference batting average to .290.

Camden Kozeal had been struggling even more, hitting .186 in SEC play. He had largely fallen out of favor in the lineup but was pushed back in due to an injury to Jayden Davis. Kozeal played Saturday and Sunday and recorded two hits in each of the games, including a double and a home run. He raised his conference batting average to .240.

The rest of the lineup didn’t do enough, though. Kozeal and Austin combined for 10 of the team’s 19 hits. Alan Espinal and JD Rogers hit home runs Sunday, but Vanderbilt put up just seven extra-base hits, compared with 12 for Georgia, including nine home runs.

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Vanderbilt’s road woes

Vanderbilt is 3-10 in true road games overall this season and 2-10 in SEC road games. The only two wins came at LSU, while the Commodores have been swept in each of their other three road series.

That won’t cut it, especially for a team that now is likely to be on the road for the postseason.

The Commodores have given up eight or more runs in 10 of 12 SEC road games, but only once in SEC home games. They have been run-ruled three times in road SEC games and got a run-rule win once.

Vanderbilt has failed to score more than six runs in nine of its 12 SEC road games and been shut out three times. At home, the Commodores have not been shut out and have one run-rule win and no run-rule losses.

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.

2025 three-star offensive lineman Antoni Kade Aguon Ogumoro (Elgin, Okl.) officially visited the Tennessee Volunteers over the weekend.

Elgin High School offensive lineman Antoni Kade Aguon Ogumoro was Tennessee’s first official visitor of the summer season. He ranks as the No. 882 prospect in the 2025 class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, and is down to a final six of Kansas State, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Tennessee.

The in-state Oklahom Sooners received an official visit from him on the weekend of April 19, and he will see Kansas State and North Carolina over the next few months. However, this weekend he made the trek out to Knoxville, Tennessee, to spend extensive time with the coaching staff. He stands 6-5 and 290 pounds with enough athletic versatility to kick inside in college if his coaching staff needs him to.

Tennessee’s 2025 Recruiting Class

• George MacIntyre, QB
• Justin Baker, RB
• Radarious Jackson, WR
• Joakim Dodson, WR
• Jack VanDorselaer, TE
• Ethan Utley, DL
• Dylan Lewis, CB
• Tyler Redmond, CB
• Sidney Walton, S

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