Knox County prosecutors will continue to use a gang enhancement sentencing law despite an appellate court ruling striking it down as unconstitutional, and at least one judge is willing to let them.
Deputy District Attorney General Kyle Hixson said Thursday that Knox County prosecutors will neither dismiss current charges seeking to apply the gang enhancement law nor stop filing them.
The decision comes after the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals struck down the law, which boosts penalties for crimes committed by gang members, as unconstitutional last week, ruling the law was so poorly drafted it provided no connection between the crimes committed and the activities of a gang.
For full story read the Knoxville News Sentinel.