In the game of Monopoly, when you get sent to jail you do not get to pass Go, you do not get to collect $200, and you roll the dice for your next three turns hoping to get doubles so you can be released from jail early. Tennessee’s newest Truth in Sentencing Bill is structured the same way, except you don’t get a chance to roll the dice to get out early, and you’re stuck in jail for years instead of a mere three turns.
Historically, many offenses in Tennessee carried a potentially heavy sentence. However, these sentences were able to be reduced by credits, “good time,” and other mechanisms. The sentences were served at a percentage based on a defendant’s prior criminal history. A prisoner could come up for parole as early as 30-35% in some cases. This was due to several reasons, ranging from the high cost it takes to house a prisoner, to the inherent belief that justice should be rehabilitative rather than punitive. As of July 1, 2022, however, certain offenses in Tennessee, if committed on or after July 1, 2022, must be served at 100% before a person is released—and any sentence reduction credits will not apply. If convicted of one of the offenses below, instead of reducing a person’s sentence, any credits earned will now be used for the purpose of increased “privileges,” reduced security classifications, or for “any purpose other than the reduction of the sentence imposed by the court.”
The new “100%” offenses are:
- Attempted first degree murder
- Second degree murder
- Criminally negligent homicide
- Vehicular homicide resulting from intoxication
- Aggravated vehicular homicide
- Especially aggravated kidnapping
- Especially aggravated robbery
- Carjacking
- Especially aggravated burglary
Certain other offenses shall be served at 85% before a person is eligible for release. Any sentence reductions or credits may only apply to the person’s remaining 15% of their sentence. The new 85% offenses, committed on or after July 1, 2022, are:
- Aggravated assault (involving a deadly weapon, strangulation, or attempted strangulation)
- Aggravated assault that results in serious bodily injury
- Aggravated assault against a first responder or nurse if the offense involves a deadly weapon, strangulation, or attempted strangulation
- Aggravated assault against a first responder or nurse resulting in serious bodily injury or death
- Voluntary manslaughter
- Vehicular homicide as a result other than driver’s intoxication
- Reckless homicide
- Aggravated kidnapping
- Involuntary labor servitude
- Trafficking persons for forced labor or services
- Aggravated robbery
- Aggravated burglary
- Aggravated arson
- Possession of a firearm during the commission or attempt of a dangerous felony
- The manufacture, delivery, or sale of a controlled substance where the offense is classified as a Class A, B, or C felony, and the person has two or more convictions for the manufacture, delivery, or sale of a controlled substance classified as a Class A, B, or C felony prior to or at the time of committing the new offense
The bill also has retroactive applications. The following offenses committed on or after July 1, 1995, and before July 1, 2022 must be served at 85%: murder in the second degree, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated robbery, and aggravated arson.
Rape, aggravated sexual battery, aggravated child abuse, sexual exploitation of a minor, and especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor committed on or after July 1, 1995 and before July 1, 2021 must also be served at 85%.
The bill is projected to increase State expenditures by over $40 Million. In Tennessee, incarceration already comprises roughly 83-85% of the Tennessee Department of Correction’s $900 Million budget. TDOC is already housing 27% of state prisoners in local jails to manage overcrowding in state facilities.[1] It cannot be denied that long prison sentences will result in more prisoners in a facility at one time, exacerbating the already prevalent overcrowding problem.
With the passing of the Truth in Sentencing bill, a person accused of one of these enumerated crimes will now be facing double, or even triple, what their sentence would have been a year ago. We can only hope that this is an isolated piece of legislation, and not a prediction of what is to come.
[1] Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR). Housing Tennessee’s Convicted Felons: Improving Outcomes while Balancing State and County Needs. [Online] 2017. https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tacir/documents/2017HousingTNConvictedFelons.pdf