https://www.intriguingenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/CJInvestmentTaskForceReport-1.pdf
Tn Governor Bill Lee had a study completed in 2019. The link to the study is above^
Here is the Summary
Executive Summary
Over the past 10 years, Tennessee’s incarceration rate has risen to 10 percent above the national
average, and its communities are no safer for it. Despite incarcerating more people and spending
over $1 billion annually on corrections in the state budget, Tennessee has the fourth highest violent
crime rate in the nation and a high recidivism rate, with nearly half of individuals rearrested within
three years of their release from custody. These trends are especially noteworthy in light of 34
states reducing both their imprisonment and crime rates during the same period from 2008 to
2017.1
Seeking to maximize public safety and reduce recidivism, in March of 2019, Governor Bill Lee
established the Criminal Justice Investment Task Force (CJITF) through Executive Order 6. The
Governor charged this group, comprised of a diverse body of criminal justice stakeholders, with
reviewing all aspects of Tennessee’s criminal justice system. As part of this charge, in July 2019,
state leaders from all three branches of government joined together to request technical assistance
through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) to engage in a comprehensive review of
Tennessee’s criminal justice system.
Over a six month period, subcommittees of the CJITF analyzed data from the state’s criminal justice
stakeholders, reviewed research on sentencing and corrections practices, and developed policy
recommendations for submission to state leaders. The analysis concluded that:
- Tennessee’s prison population grew 12 percent over the past decade, driven by a growth in
time served due to increasing sentence lengths and decreasing parole releases. - Despite a growing prison population and increasing corrections budget, Tennessee’s
recidivism rate remains high. - While admissions decreased over the past decade, Tennessee still sentences a large number
of individuals convicted of non-violent offenses to the state’s prisons and jails, with 74
percent of felony admissions in FY2018 being for non-person offenses. - Tennessee’s female incarceration rate ranks 11th-highest in the nation, with female felony
admissions increasing 12 percent over the past decade. - While the overall number of community supervision revocations has decreased in recent
years, the share of revocations for non-criminal conduct is growing, and the state saw more
than 4,200 revocations from community supervision in FY2018 for a non-criminal violation
(often referred to as a “technical violation”). - Local county jails housed over 8,500 individuals sentenced for felony offenses at the end of
FY2018, and at least half of these jail facilities are overcrowded.
To my understanding, the conclusions recommend that more time is not helpful. Though the study is clear that more time does nothing to improve the well-being of inmate’s congress persists on giving out all-time high sentencing for non-violent offenders in order for certain District Attorneys to make a name for themselves.
I do not understand why Governor Bill Lee would go through the trouble of this research to do nothing about it. We need to reframe our system to help those in need instead of throwing them in a locked cell and keeping them stuck within the revolving door called our legal system. If they are truly bad people, then yes, we need punishment. Unfortunately, our congress has mandatory sentences for people once the cases reach the federal level. It is no longer on a case-by-case basis. The judge will not hear nor look at you as a person. Only a file #. And facts presented by the DA’s office. This is wrong. No one should be made to feel as if their existence is irrelevant.
Until Next Time, Saddle up!