TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on May 7, 2024

Gov. Bill Lee earlier this year ended an expedited clemency program for those sentenced under a previous version of the state's drug-free school zone law. The change was posted to the Tennessee Department of Corrections' website sometime after the program was ended in January, but reportedly was not publicly announced. According to the Tennessean, under the old law, those convicted of a drug crime within 1,000 feet of a school, library, park, day-care center or recreational center were subject to mandatory minimum sentences even for first-time drug offenses. The Tennessee General Assembly changed the law in September 2020 to reduce the radius of a "school zone" to 500 feet. Ending the program means offenders convicted under the old law, and sentenced to longer prison terms than they would be today, have lost what may have been the most viable option to adjust their sentences.