HALLOWEEN HORRORS- AMENDMENT 1
Everybody hears "deny bail to murderers and rapists" and thinks, good. Lock them up.
But read what this Amendment actually does.
Bail exists to make sure a person appears in court.
Right now, Tennessee's Constitution only lets a judge hold you without bail in a capital case, but
Amendment 1 includes a catch-all for ANY CRIME where you'd have to serve 85% of your sentence. Just ask your favorite Ai for a full list.
Now picture this.
Somebody accosts you in an alley in Nashville. You defend yourself. The police show up, a prosecutor charges you with 2nd degree murder, or, if the guy survives, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
A judge decides the "proof is evident or the presumption great." I mean, you arent even denying it.
That's it. No bail. You sit in jail until trial.
Your self-defense claim? No jury has heard it. Might not hear it for months. Meanwhile you're locked up, losing your job, and trying to pay a lawyer from a jail cell.
Judges can already set sky-high bonds. GPS monitors. House arrest. In most of these cases, they already have the power to keep somebody locked up — they just have to use it.
So sure, let's hand them even MORE power. Because the same judges who won't do the job with the authority they have now are definitely going to "see the light" once we give them more.
All this amendment requires is that the judge writes his reasons down. A reason on paper doesn't make it right — and fighting it costs money most people don't have.
The right to defend your life doesn't mean much if you lose your freedom while you're waiting to prove you were justified.
So before you vote yes on Tuesday, ask yourself who this power actually gets used on and how hard it is to claw back an expansion of power.