Nashville, Tennessee (WKRN) — Tennessee’s annual legislative session is underway in Nashville.
Ahead of the start of the 113th General Assembly, WKRN News 2’s Chris O’Brien sat down with leaders on both sides of the aisle to talk about all the issues and what they might look like in bill form. bottom.
Separate from Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis), Lt. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge), House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), House Majority Leader William Lambers (R-Portland) was interviewed. ), Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (Republican-Franklin), and Democratic House Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemons (Democrat-Nashville).
Not all interviewees were questioned every day Subject matter, but there was quite a bit of crossover with most of them.
Here’s what lawmakers said before the session when asked for their thoughts on crime-related topics, such as how to address the state’s backlog of rape kits.
Backlog of TBI and rape kits
The brutal murder of Eliza Fletcher last year put TBI’s backlog of rape kits in the lead. The outcry came after another woman came forward saying she had been raped by the same suspect a year earlier.
A bill introduced by Senator London Lamar (D-Memphis) would require TBI to test rape kits within 30 days. Law enforcement now has to send the kit to her TBI within 30 days of her, but Tennessee law doesn’t actually require it to be tested.
If the bill is passed, TBI will have 45 days from its entry into force to submit a plan to eliminate the current backlog. The goal is to close the backlog by early 2024.
Sexton: “I think you’ll see suggestions from. [Governor Bill Lee’s] Office to increase funding to TBI for what they need to get ahead of this. I think there will also be infrastructure in place to support the efforts of the East, the Middle and the West. ”
“Another problem is [scientists] You’ll be called to court, and that’s fine. But it creates another backflow. I think we need a 24/7 office. Let’s have a second and her third shift to help handle this work. ”
McNally: “I think TBI can get enough resources to work off that backlog. We are working on this and will continue to work on it until it is down. More rape kits have been sent to TBI in the past. We have a few labs, but we need to make sure we have the right equipment and the right staff to handle it.”
“If the result is rape and the DNA is that of John Doe, the person who took the test could actually be called up as a witness to testify. But it’s late, then it’s late again, that’s one of the tricks defense attorneys, criminal defense attorneys use, you can do it on video like we do in some of the child abuse cases. , I think their testimony could be used in a video.
Johnson: “This is a multi-faceted issue. We cannot allow it to take so long to get back these kits, which could be very important DNA information to allow the prosecution to move forward.Read More We need to do well, we need to give TBI the tools.”
“If you have to do more, do it. Crime and wanting to be crime-fighting is emphasized and this is an important part of that. We just need to give the good people at TBI the resources they need.” .”
Akbari: “The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation needs additional resources for these rape kit tests and all kinds of tests. I think that I will surely receive the reward of
“TBI does not have the resources or staff to test these kits in a timely manner.
Lambert: “I asked for additional resources for the TBI, specifically for the scientists who are testing blood alcohol and toxicology, rape kits, and everything else. We need additional resources.”
“We added resources before, but we need to multiply them by 10. We need to fully fund the TBI mission. If not, I encourage my friends and colleagues in Congress to ensure that additional funds are added to the budget.”
violent crime
Sexton: “One of the things we will look at is that if you commit a violent crime as a minor, you should not have discretion if you are tried as a minor or as an adult. You really have to be an adult.”
“Another thing we work with governors is supportive housing, so people don’t have to go back to neighborhoods that are at high risk of reoffending after they get out of prison. Let’s talk about how we can work with local governments, judges and law enforcement agencies to provide them with the resources they need to succeed and free them from the circumstances that potentially caused them to get there.
“We will also look at a three-three policy for violent offenders. is a career criminal and should, in my opinion, be sentenced to life without parole and probably go to jail.”
McNallyMr. Sexton and I have made some progress on the most violent crimes. In that case, I think we need to make sure that violent criminals are sociopaths, psychopaths, we need to cut them off from society, whether it’s needles or prison, I think both I support
“[Execution] It takes too long. They used to hold trials and individuals were hanged on the same day. I’m not promoting that kind of justice, but I don’t think it would be productive to hold someone on death row for her 20 years. ”
