Nashville Tennessean
A major criminal justice reform initiative pushed for years by advocates has finally passed a significant milestone in Tennessee.
It’s a measure that would offer a life-altering second chance for inmates serving life in prison to prove they have been rehabilitated. Currently, a 1995 state law prohibits life-sentence inmates from having a parole eligibility hearing until after they have served 51 years.
Despite first-degree murder in the state having three possible sentences — death, life in prison without parole and life in prison with the possibility of parole — the 51-year waiting period for a release hearing is effectively a full life sentence, bipartisan advocates argue.