Gov. Bill Lee's first veto is smart on crime, and courageous
Governor Bill Lee should be applauded for his courage in issuing his first veto on a small bill which could have had big consequences.
The proposed law, if signed, would have allowed the Board of Parole to deny release for eligible inmates solely due to the 'seriousness of the crime' and regardless of their rehabilitation or risk of recidivism. This would have increased state spending for housing inmates with no demonstrated benefit to public safety.
'Seriousness of the crime' should only be considered at sentencing
As an attorney, I have represented clients at parole hearings and in court when sentences are imposed. Most people expect that parole will be granted upon eligibility if they stay out of trouble and take whatever classes and programs they can while incarcerated. But the 'seriousness of the crime' factor allows the Parole Board to deny release regardless of how well the person has done in prison.
Gov. Bill Lee speaks during a press conference on the last day of session at The Tennessee State Capitol building in Nashville , Tenn., Tuesday, April 22, 2025.
This unfairly 'double counts' the facts of the underlying crime. After all, that information already informed the offender's sentence as well as any possible parole eligibility. Offenders become eligible for parole at a certain time because of the relative seriousness of the crime, not despite it.
But when the 'seriousness of the crime' factor is part of the listed reasons parole can be denied, the Parole Board is bound to consider it. I have seen offenders denied parole even though they had no disciplinary issues since their last hearing, which is fully within the Parole Board's discretion when authorized.
More: Parole increasingly rare in Tennessee as grant rate, number of hearings falls again
The parole law previously allowed for the 'seriousness of the crime' to be considered in parole decisions for all convictions, including non-violent drug crimes. Under Governor Lee's leadership, the factor was appropriately limited by the Reentry Success Act of 2021 and allowed to apply only to the most heinous offenses, such as murder and human trafficking. The proposed amendment would have taken us backwards by removing that constraint.
Denying parole to deserving inmates costs money and discourages rehabilitation
If the legislature thinks some crimes are too serious to merit parole release after some number of years, they can change that through increasing sentence length or parole eligibility, or by denying eligibility altogether. They have done just that in recent years.
We all want to see a decrease in crime and recidivism. It makes sense that rewarding good behavior in prison with early release will promote those goals, since most eligible offenders will all be released at some point anyway. By contrast, I have seen no evidence that offenders will be less likely to commit new crimes if they serve more time in prison based solely on past facts, and regardless of any demonstrated improvement.
Through his veto, Governor Lee has again reflected his commitment to being 'smart on crime.' In his final years in office, I hope the legislature will work with him to further promote public safety.
Ben Raybin, criminal defense, clemency, and civil rights law attorney
Ben Raybin is an attorney at Raybin & Weissman, PC. He practices primarily in criminal defense, clemency, and civil rights law.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TN governor's first veto shows commitment to justice reform | Opinion
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