Lawrence County sheriff, captain charged with official misconduct
Lawrence County Sheriff Jimmy Brown and a captain in his office have been charged with official misconduct after allegations ranging from mishandling moonshine to improper release of jail inmates — some of whom had relatives making campaign donations to the sheriff.
TBI reports 2017 increase in ‘hate crime’ and assaults on law enforcement officers
Press release from Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
NASHVILLE – Today, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released two reports, detailing the volume and nature of crime identified as hate crime and violence against the state’s law enforcement officers. The annual studies compile crime data submitted to TBI by the state’s law enforcement agencies through the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS).
House and Senate send governor ‘significantly watered down’ juvenile justice reform (updated)
Gov. Bill Haslam’s “Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018” has been approved by both the House and Senate after multiple revisions that Senate Democratic Caucus Chairman Jeff Yarbro said on the Senate floor left it “significantly watered down” and perhaps not even deserving its title. Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris basically agreed, saying Yarbro’s comments were “well taken” – but both also agreed the measure is at least a “small step” in the right direction.
TBI crime report for 2017: More murder and rape, less DUI
Press release from TBI
NASHVILLE – Today, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released its 2017 ‘Crime in Tennessee’ report, revealing a slight overall increase in reported instances of crime in the most recent reporting year.
Indictment against two TBI agents for alleged illegal search dismissed
Dyer County Circuit Court Judge Roy B. Morgan has dismissed indictments handed down in March against TBI Agents Mark Reynolds and Jeff Jackson with approval of the current local district attorney general and with grumbling from those who made allegations that they conducted an illegal search, reports the Dyersburg State Gazette.
State approves $1 million in reparations for man imprisoned 31 years
Lawrence McKinney, cleared of a rape conviction after spending more than three decades in prison, has become the first person in the state to receive $1 million in reparations from the state, the maximum allowed under Tennessee law, reports WTVF.
Two TBI agents indicted on charges stemming from alleged illegal search
Two Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents have been indicted by a Lake County grand jury on assault and kidnapping charges stemming from an allegedly illegal search of a Ridgely residence in 2015, according to the Dyersburg State Gazette.
The homeowners, Fred Austin Wortman Jr. and his wife, Marilyn, have also filed civil lawsuits over the search by TBI agents Mark Reynolds and Jeff Jackson.
TBI reports campus crime down slightly overall; theft and DUI offenses up
Press release from Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has released to the public its annual crime study detailing the volume and nature of crime on the state’s college and university campuses. ‘Crime on Campus 2017’ compiles data submitted to TBI by the state’s colleges, universities, and law enforcement agencies through the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS).
Among the report’s findings:
Bill making killer kids eligible for parole brings prosecutor protests, recalling 1997 triple murder
A bill that would make juvenile murderers eligible for parole after 30 years even if sentenced to life in prison has won approval of a House committee while touching off outspoken opposition from those recalling a 1997 triple slaying in Greene County, reports the Greeneville Sun.
HB274, filed last year by Rep. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) and Sen. Becky Massey (R-Knoxville), cleared the House Criminal Justice Committee Feb. 28 after being amended to require 30 years in prison instead of 20, as proposed in the original version. It is on notice for a hearing this week in the House Finance Subcommittee. The bill’s fiscal note estimates that it could eventually save the state more than $4 million in incarceration expenses.
District Attorney General Dan Armstrong calls it “the Lillelid Injustice Bill” because it could apply to two juveniles convicted in the 1997 murders, though they received three consecutive life without parole sentences plus 25 years.
Knox County mayor candidate arrested in California
Knox County mayoral candidate Rhonda “Mousie” Gallman is being held in a California jail on $100,000 bond after being arrested as arrested in Los Angeles on charges of preventing a witness from testifying in court, reports the News Sentinel.
