Press Release:
As 2025 begins, there are new Tennessee laws that will go into effect. January 1, 2025 will be the first date that certain laws passed by the General Assembly in the last legislative session will go into effect. Senator Paul Bailey (R-Sparta) cracked down on crime while providing juveniles more options.
“Blended sentencing for juvenile offenders is an innovative way to incentivize convicted minors to have good behavior and provide more options,” said Bailey. “Additionally, this new bill closes the prior loopholes that allowed these minors to commit serious crimes. ”
On January 1, the new law that Bailey supported is:
Blended sentencing for juvenile offenders prevents juveniles from avoiding the consequences of the crimes. Additionally this bill incentivizes convicted juveniles who have worked to turn their lives around. The new law allows for a juvenile convicted in criminal court to receive a ‘blended sentence’, so the juvenile would serve both a juvenile and adult sentence – keeping them in prison up to age 24. Currently, if a juvenile is convicted of a violent offense, there are only two options. One option is to handle the case in the juvenile court system where the juvenile offender will be released at age 19 with their record expunged. The other option is to try that juvenile in adult court if the offense is violent enough. Then, if convicted, the juvenile will be incarcerated in adult prison. This new blended sentencing law offers a third option for the offender to be treated as a juvenile delinquent until age 19 and then be given an adult sentence until age 24. It closes loopholes that enabled juveniles to commit serious, violent offenses.