A push to give more prison time to aggravated robbery convictions has passed its first hurdle in the Legislature after nearly eight years of work.
Proponents for increasing the minimum time served for such convictions say the law would keep dangerous criminals off the streets longer, while others say increasing sentences will result in fewer convictions and longer court cases.
“A person who arms himself with a gun and robs someone is a particularly dangerous type of individual,” said Hamilton County District Attorney General Bill Cox. “Aggravated robbery is just a hair’s breadth away from murder.”
But one possible result of the law’s passage could be fewer convictions and lengthier trials, said Kevin Loper, a Chattanooga private practice criminal defense attorney.
The bill passed the House and is now on the Senate’s Finance Ways and Means committee calendar for Tuesday. It could face a vote before the end of the month.
In 1995, the Legislature passed a law requiring those convicted of certain crimes to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence. The crimes included first-degree murder, second-degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated robbery, rape, aggravated rape, aggravated sexual battery, the rape of a child, aggravated arson and aggravated child abuse, aggravated rape of a child and sexual exploitation of a child.
Aggravated robbery was not included.
That was a “glaring omission,” said Guy Jones, deputy director of the Tennessee District Attorneys Conference.
Prosecutors and law enforcement have pushed for aggravated robbery’s inclusion on the list since at least 1998, according to newspaper archives.
The current bill would not add the crime to the list, but would increase the minimum time served before parole eligibility from 30 percent to 74 percent.
The sentence for aggravated robbery is eight to 12 years. Under current law a person convicted of the crime could be eligible for parole in 21/2 years. If the enhancement is passed the offender would face nearly six years before being eligible.
What the bill would do:If passed in its current form, HB 2813/SB 3431 would increase the minimum prison time served for an aggravated robbery conviction prior to parole eligibility from 30 percent to 74 percent of the sentence.Aggravated robbery convictions carry a sentence of eight to 12 years. Under current law, the earliest someone would be eligible for parole would be in 2.4 years. If the proposed law passes, the earliest would be nearly six years.Aggravated robbery arrests in Chattanooga:* 2004: 52* 2005: 61* 2006: 54* 2007: 73* 2008: 86* 2009: 48* 2010: 1
Money has been the major obstacle for passing the law for more than a decade, Mr. Jones said. Estimates show a $10 million cost to taxpayers if the law passes, using numbers from the Tennessee Department of Correction and Board of Pardons and Paroles.
But this year’s version of the bill offsets the cost by allowing those convicted of some nonviolent property crimes to be penalized using alternative sentencing such as community corrections.
Chattanooga interim police Chief Mark Rawlston said anytime the courts can keep violent criminals off the streets, it makes police work easier.
Forty percent of offenders will commit crimes within two years of their release date, based on Department of Correction data.
But Mr. Loper said raising the amount of time someone convicted of aggravated robbery must spend in jail could make it harder to get a conviction.
Often crimes such as aggravated robbery are difficult to prosecute because the burden of proof is so high, he said, leaving a prosecutor in a position where getting a conviction is more difficult. At such times, defendants might be willing to plead guilty, knowing they’ll have a chance at parole in less than three years.
The possibility of parole is a “light at the end of the tunnel” for many defendants and is also an “incentive to behave well and reform” while in prison, he said.
But if the minimum time a defendant can expect to serve is six years or more, as it would be under the new law, the person may decide to take the case to trial, knowing there’s a good possibility of winning in court.
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Article: Tennessee: House boosts prison time for armed robbery