When Tennessee voters go to the polls to choose their next governor, they will also be asked to vote on a constitutional amendment that would change how judges determine bail for defendants charged with some serious crimes.
Called Amendment #1, the proposed constitutional amendment seeks to make more than 70 crimes eligible for no-bail detention, including aggravated rape and grave torture. Judges could still allow bail and must state their reasons for granting or denying it. As it stands, judges can only deny bail in Tennessee for what are known as capital offenses, effectively only first-degree murder.
“We need to empower our judges to deny bail when they believe that someone is a genuine threat to society,” said Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, who co-sponsored the amendment resolution with House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville. “It will allow our judges to deny bail and keep someone incarcerated if they’re charged with a violent crime.”…