Jails and Juveniles

Tennessee appeared to have an average scale of juvenile facilities within their state. In the year 2000, Tennessee reported a total of 63 total juvenile facilities where 28 of that number were public facilities and 35 of them were private. Come 2002, that number slightly decreased across the board. Overall, there were a total of 58 facilities where 26 of them were public and 32 were private. Finally in 2004, there was yet another decrease overall in the facilities, especially private facilities which faced the biggest hit. There were a total of 52 facilities where 28 of them were public and 24 of them were private. The numbers may have decreased due to the rate at which juveniles were committing crimes. Also the number may have decreased of privately owned facilities due to the court systems wanting to restrict privately owned juvenile facilities. The facilities may have decreased due to the strictness of the law, making it harder to commit crimes to be sent to one of the following facilities. These private facilities could have had any number of reasons why they closed down, even if it meant the public didn’t want the crimes committed by these juveniles kept private. (Juvenile Residential Facility Census 2004)


In the state of Tennessee in 1999 there were 108 jails and the rated capacity of the prisons was 21,572. This means there was a 91 percent occupancy rate in those jails. The number of inmates per each staff member was 3.1 and for a correctional officer it was 4.4. Even though the numbers seem pretty high and it is room to assume that Tennessee criminal population in jails was over capacity, the ratio per staff and correctional officer disproves it. First because close to 3 people per staff member is enough to keep in control and close to 5 people per correctional officer is a good amount to keep under control and know everyone’s where about. Second, that means that each officer and staff is assigned enough work on their hand but not too much where it can get out of hand. Third, Even if the jails are at a 91 percent capacity rate there is still plenty of room left for new inmates and when it reaches to about 98 percent capacity and 7 and up inmates per staff and officers that is when it would be over capacity( U.S. Department of Justice 2001)

In Tennessee, the male prison population in 2000 was 20,797. In 2006 it jumped to 23,787 and then to 24.344 in 2007. The percentage change from 2000-2006 was 2.3% and then again in 2007. The woman prison population in Tennessee was 1,369 in 2000, 1,958 in 2006, and 1,923 in 2007. From 2000 to 2006 there was a 6.1% increase in the population while it dropped by -1.8% by 2007.
Reasons why male prison populations would increase is the availability of the crime, it becomes easier to commit crimes with the advances in technology. As the Tennessee population itself grows, so would the number of criminals to reciprocate the proportions. As well as young males being desensitized to violence by public wrestling and other highly violent activity being portrayed in the media. The woman prison population can also be explained by advances in technology and increases in population. The decrease, however, may be explained by it being more socially acceptable now to be a working woman. Having a career that one values would prevent someone from committing a crime in need of money. (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2007)

Sources:
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Juvenile
Residential Facility Census, 2000: Selected Findings, p. 2; 2002: Selected Findings, p. 2; 2004: Selected
Findings, p. 2, Juvenile Offenders and Victims National Report Series (Washington, DC: U.S. Department
of Justice). Table adapted by SOURCEBOOK staff.

U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Census of Jails, 1999,
NCJ 186633 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 2001), pp. 14, 28. Table
adapted by SOURCEBOOK staff.
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2003, page 91

West, Heater C. & Sabol, William J. National Prison Statistics (2007)

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Punishment, Probation, and Parole

Tennessee is located in the south region of the United States. The state of Tennessee agrees with the death penalty. The number of executions in Tennessee since 1976 was five and the number of deaths before 1976 was 335. The current death row population is 92. The number of women on death row is 2. The Date Death Penalty was re-enacted on February 27, 1974 and the first execution since the re-enactment was in the year 2000. The murder rate in Tennessee is 6.4 per 100,000 people. It is possible for the accused to receive life without parole as a punishment. A person can receive the death penalty for a murder he or she was not responsible for. Two people have been found innocent for the crimes they were accused of and got off death row. One clemency was granted in the state of Tennessee. The clemency process happens when the Governor has the Boards of Pardons and Paroles recommendation for clemency. . The methods the state of Tennessee uses to execute those on death row is lethal injection for those whose capital offense happened after December 31, 1998, those that occurred before this date have the option of electrocution instead of lethal injection. The sentence is determined by a jury. The location of death row is in Livingston, Tennessee. (Death Penalty 2009)

The first recorded death penalty in Tennessee was that of Allen Russell. Russell, age-unknown an African-American male who's crime was rape. He was killed by the hanging method on March 1, 1823. The latest is in 1960 on November 7. On that day African-American William Tines, age 37, was killed by electrocution. His crime was rape. (Executions 2002)

The main things that these criminals have in common is that they are both are African-American and both committed a rape. While looking through the majority of these crimes it is plain to see that most of these people on death row were charged with rape and were mostly African-American. It makes one wonder if there is some racism involved when deciding who gets the death penalty and who does not. Tennessee has also only put three women on death row from 1823-2002. So it seems women are more likely to get off of the hook because they seem more harmless than their male counterparts. Even some lesser crimes such as attempted rape, and attempted burglary warranted capital punishment; all of these intruders were black. There is obviously some underlining racism in the process, and this has not changed.
The report “Probation and Parole in the United States” indicates that in 2006, Tennessee had 4,443 entries into the parole system, and 3,232 exits from parole programs. The report also indicates that Tennessee had a parole population of 9,702 in 2006, and the number of Tennessee residents on parole (per every 100,000 adult residents) was 210. The report also indicates that Tennessee had 26,761 entries into and 21,811 exits from the probation program in 2006, with a total of 52,558 individuals in the probation program. The number of Tennessee residents on probation (per every 100,000 adult residents) was 1,136. This data shows that Tennessee has more than six times as many people on probation than on parole. When compared with Colorado, which has 9,551 people on parole and 63,032 on probation, it appears that although the number of people on parole in each state is very similar, Tennessee has a smaller population of people on probation. One possible reason for this is that Colorado offers more probation programs to offenders (“Probation and parole in the united states, 2007).
Restorative Justice – A perspective on justice that views the main goal of the criminal justice system to be a systematic response to wrongdoing that emphasizes healing victims, offenders, and communities wounded by crime. It stresses peacemaking, not punishment. Justice should involve all parties affected by crime--- victims, criminals, law enforcement, and the community. (Siegel, 2008, p.705)
The following was compiled with the help of information obtained from The Santa Barbara Independent in an article written by Nick Welsh on 11.01.2007
In 2007, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department put nine of their deputies through four days of “restorative justice” training in hopes of trying out this new approach to criminal justice with juvenile offenders. The program was lead by Allan MacRae, the man responsible for helping to bring about this particular form of justice to his native New Zealand, where he says that it has achieved “solid results.” The program focuses on various techniques that help bring juvenile offenders (and their families) together with those affected by the offenders’ crimes. The logic behind this is that it will force juvenile offenders to realize the effect of their actions on the victim(s), as well as on their community. Getting relatives involved is done in hopes that family members can do a better job keeping the offenders out of trouble than could the overworked probation system. According to MacRae, New Zealand used to have one of the highest juvenile incarceration rates in the world before techniques associated with the restorative justice method were introduced. In some of New Zealand’s cities, 66 percent of the offenders successfully completed the programs; while in others, the success rate was as high as 95 percent. He attributes the fact of New Zealand’s considerably lower juvenile crime rate to these programs. As for the high costs involved to institute these types of programs, MacRae insists that the savings over time in New Zealand have more than paid for their programs.

Sources:
Siegel, Larry J. (2008). Introduction to Criminal Justice
Welsh, Nick (2007, November 01). Sheriffs Train in ‘Restorative Justice’
Retrieved November 16, 2009, from the Santa Barbara Independent’s website:
http://www.independent.com/news/2007/nov/01/sheriffs-train-restorative-justice/

Glaze, L. E., & Bonczar, T. P. (2007, November 30). Probation and Parole in the United States, 2006. Retrieved November 16, 2009

Death Penalty Information Center, (2009). Retrieved November 17, 2009 from Death Penalty Information Center
Website: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/state_by_state

Executions is the U.S. 1608-2002: The ESPY File Executions by State. Website: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ESPYstate.pdf

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Tennessee Trials and Tribulations

The Shelby County in Memphis, Tennessee uses grand jury hearings for misdemeanors and preliminary hearings when a felony is committed (Shelby County, 2007). There are several differences between the two. A preliminary hearing is carried out in front of a magistrate or a lower court judge, and it is open to the public, unless the defendant does not agree to this (Siegel, 2009, p.431). A grand jury hearing is not open to the public. Also, in a grand jury hearing, the defense attorney and the defendant are not allowed to be present, but in a preliminary hearing, they are present. In preliminary hearings, the judge decides whether the defendant should or should not be accused, as opposed to a grand jury hearing, in which the people of the jury vote whether or not the defendant should be accused. The two methods are different, but they both accomplish the same task.

In the ongoing trial in Roane County, Tennessee of Leon Huston say that he and his younger brother, Rocky Joe Houston, gunned down Deputy Bill Jones, 53, and his friend Mike Brown, 44, when Jones showed up at the Houston family farmhouse south of the Tennessee River to serve a warrant charging Rocky Houston with failure to appear in court. Witnesses confirmed that it was not self defense and later found that the deputy and his partner did not have a warrant. The first trail of the case ended in July 2008 with a hung jury. Then the trial in December with the same charges ended with a divided jury and a split verdict leaving in conclusion a new trial ordered was placed. Houston is pleading a non guilty verdict on a charger and double jeopardy. He and his brother are held in custody until the court of appeals rules on the issue. The jurors get their nights and weekends off now until this happens as well. The prosecuted would hope to have jurors would agree that he was being charged twice for the same crime and that the double jeopardy rule is effective. The defended would want a jury to see their point of view and disagree with the double jeopardy law because a sentencing has not been placed yet.

“On the sixth day of Lemaricus Davidson trial, witness tells new story. Woman says couple was begging for gas money... A two-time prosecution witness changed sides Saturday in the trial of torture slaying alleged ringleader Lemaricus Davidson and offered a never-before-heard claim.” (Satterfield, 2009)

Direct evidence presented in court is that: “Ethel Lynn Freeman contends she saw slaying victims Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom outside an Exxon station in East Knoxville begging for gas money on the night of their alleged abduction.” (Satterfield, 2009)

Circumstantial evidence presented in the trial would be that: “Christian had a debit card in her possession the night of her death and had made recent deposits of paychecks totaling more than $600. Both Christian and Newsom held jobs.” (Satterfield, 2009)

These pieces of evidence probably would support the prosecution's case as that it shows the two people murdered were dishonest and may have done something to provoke their murder.

http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/AGP.Net/Components/documentViewer/Download.aspxnz?DocumentID=42467

“Tennessee gives its citizens the right to a speedy trial using either the constitution or the statutes. The statute requires that all of the criminal proceedings shall be concluded within 180 days of the date of the defendant’s indictment. However, should the case not be tried or dealt within the timeframe given, the court is required to give a certificate explaining the reasons the trial has not been brought before the court.”

http://law.findlaw.com/state-laws/criminal-statute-of-limitations/intro-criminal-statute-of-limitations/

http://law.findlaw.com/state-laws/civil-statute-of-limitations/intro-civil-statute-of-limitations/

“Statute of limitations was a law designed to prohibit prosecutors for going after someone for a crime that was committed more than “X” number of years. They put this limitation in place to prevent deterioration of evidence, however if the time limit has been exceeded, the criminal may not be prosecuted in the near future. This is a general procedure for all states to follow. As for the length of the statute, it’s dependent on how serious the criminal act is. The whole idea behind the statute of limitations is mainly one of general practicability and fairness.”

News Sentinel Staff. "Roane jury selection continues." knoxnews.com [Knoxville] 3 Nov. 2009: 1. knoxnews.com. Web. 8 Nov. 2009.

Shelby County District Attorney General. (2007). What happens when someone is arrested? Retrieved online from http://www.scdag.com/Help/Whathappenswhensomeoneisarrested/tabid/66/Default.aspx.

Siegel, L.J. (2009). Introduction to criminal justice (12^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

Satterfield, J. (2009, October 25). On the sixth day of lemaricus davidson trial, witness tells new story . Tennessean

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