“We can empty our jails in the same way that some other states have done. I know we can do that.” Gov Bill Lee
“Because of y’alls leadership, I think we’re going to get criminal justice reform,” he said, adding: “We can empty our jails in the same way that some other states have done. I know we can do that.” Says Gov Bill Lee as he and the Senate’s Republicans gathered in Crossville in Oct 2019 to outline their 2020 priorities.
“It isn’t going to be easy to get that done,” he said. “We have to be creative and innovative and disruptive and challenge the way we’ve been doing things forever.”
Part of Criminal Justice “Reform” is the release of offenders to a parole or probation status. In Tennessee it is known as “community supervision” with former prisoners labeled “clients” rather than what they are..parolees and probationers. In the last 6 months criminals who should have remained in prison or jail, have been released which in turn, they have committed murders.
Michael D. Mosley – In May of 2015, Mosley was arrested for a stabbing a man in the stomach for which he was found guilty. In October 2018, he was charged with domestic assault after repeatedly slamming a female relatives head into a wall several times resulting in bodily injury. On December 5, 2018, he was charged with viciously punching a woman in a Walmart store “over and over again.” It appears that he was arrested for the December 2018 incident on November 5 2019 and was released on $5,000 bond. Despite the previous conviction for violent assault, Mosley was released after serving minimal time incarcerated. Mosley has been arrested for the stabbing deaths of Clayton Beathard, and Paul Trapeni III. Mosley was on probation at the time he stabbed and killed those 2 young men.
Michael Lee Cummins From the news report in Sumner County Tenn. (WTVF) —” Three days after the ‘deadliest homicide event in Tennessee in at least 20 years’ new information is being released regarding the suspected killer, Michael Cummins and his probation status. On Saturday, April 27, Michael Cummins allegedly took the lives of seven people, three of which being members of his own family. Now, it has been confirmed that a probation officer was preparing an arrest warrant for Cummins the day before the homicides occurred. The report further stated
“According to District Attorney Ray Whitley, a violation of probation affidavit was filed on Monday, April 22. This affidavit outlined numerous issues with Cummins’ probation. These included missing appointments with his probation officer and not contacting with the probation office. Cummins also reportedly would not comply with the conditions of his probation which required him to receive mental health treatment.”
Again..Probation
In December law enforcement authorities were investigating a homicide in the Lakewood Park area in Manchester TN, where a 68 yr old male was found dead. 20 year old Tyler Parker, who was found in the victims car in Oklahoma, has been returned to Coffee County, where he and his female accomplice will be charged with that homicide. Parker, was wanted for violating probation.
This is just a sample of what probationers and parolees do when given the chance to remain free from their prior convictions.
Criminal justice reform is just a fancy way of calling it what is truly is, a sweeping release of convicted criminals because states do not want to continue to spend money on building facilities to house them. Another piece not often mentioned is the underlying ideology that prisons and jails are filled with minorities, which leads to the accusations that the current criminal justice system is racist.
While the fix will not be easy, appeasing community leaders by reducing bail or not setting bail at all is not the answer either. As of now, we still live under a system of laws. If you break those laws, consequences must prevail. As it is society is breaking down, and taking law abiding citizens and law enforcement officers with it. If states continue to dismantle the system, we can only expect more chaos and eventually civil unrest.
Emptying jails to prove points, and win votes is not the answer.
Truly scary, sounds so much like the “Trauma Informed Discipline” that is currently going on in our schools….awww shucks, they have had a rough life so let’s send them for some yoga therapy and put them right back in the classroom. Cathy, all your readers need to read the book “Why Meadow Died”.
I was on a jury for a trial of a young man who beat his “friend” to death with a baseball bat over a disagreement about a bag of pot. He showed no remorse at the trial and even cracked some jokes about it. He was convicted of 2nd degree murder. The judge told us that he would be sentenced to the maximum of 15 years but, if he behaved well, he would be released in 7 years. I protested and told the judge that he was a sociopath and would probably be in trouble again if he was released. She gave me a sympathetic look and said “It’s the law.” These are the criminals that Bill Lee wants walking among us.
I’m not buying it! The jails here are housing inmates from prisons because of overcrowding. It’s no accident it’s money in their pockets. Everything they do is about the bottom line for their personal gain. Private prisons in Tennessee it’s Core Civic and my understanding is Paige Walley is a supporter of the private prison industry and the way it works is “donations” are given which are then given out to lawyers and judges in each senators district to guarantee these private for profit prisons will stay filled to capacity! They don’t want empty jails that would mean empty prisons as well.