In the first legislative session since being elected District Attorney, Jason Lawson is making an impact beyond the courtroom. DA Lawson wrote two pieces of legislation to change the criminal laws that have been adopted by the General Assembly and were recently signed into law by Governor Lee.

“To me, part of the responsibilities of the office is to pay attention to those areas where the law needs to be strengthened to achieve justice for victims,” said Lawson. “It is important what we do in the courtroom, but it is also important what we fight for at the legislature.”

The first new law proposed by Lawson gives judges greater ability to order consecutive sentences when multiple crimes are committed against multiple victims. Senate Bill 1224 provides that if a person commits more than one crime against more than one victim, the judge can order separate sentences to be served one after the other instead of the sentences being served at the same time. This is true regardless of whether the crimes were committed on a single day or over separate days.

“If a person commits a homicide, and then to get away carjacks another victim, that should count as two crimes with two sentences and not a single criminal episode,” said Lawson. “The second victim is no less traumatized by the crime committed against them, and they deserve justice for that second decision,” explained Lawson.

The crimes are not limited to crimes of violence. If multiple car burglaries are committed, or multiple home burglaries, or even spree crimes such as shoplifting, the judge now has a legal basis to order separate sentences for each crime committed.

“Prosecutors will argue for the separate sentences, and if the judge finds that it is in the interest of justice, the judge has the power to order separate sentences. It is the proper exercise of the judicial and prosecutorial function,” said Lawson.

The second change in the law proposed by Lawson that has been adopted deals with a specific crime. Voluntary Manslaughter has historically carried a sentence of three years to six years. House Bill 0722 increases the punishment to eight to twelve years.

“When a jury convicts someone of Voluntary Manslaughter, they think that they have convicted the defendant of a significant crime. Jurors are sick to learn that the crime carries as few as three years for taking a human life,” said Lawson.

What made the sentence more egregious was the gap in the law between the next greater offense, Second Degree Murder, and Voluntary Manslaughter. Second Degree Murder carries a sentence of fifteen to twenty-five years. The next lesser included offense a jury would consider, without knowing the punishments, is Voluntary Manslaughter, which dropped the punishment to three to six years.

“That is too great a distance between lesser included offenses,” said Lawson. “Voluntary Manslaughter still involves the intentional or knowing killing of another person. The punishment of three years was too insignificant for the crime. This change corrects that and brings the punishment for Voluntary Manslaughter in line with where it should be,” explained Lawson.

There was also a unique aspect to this piece of legislation. Although it increased the punishment, according to the General Assembly it also saves tax dollars.

“Sentences between three and six years are often served in the local county jails, while sentences over eight years are often served in state prisons. According to state financial analysts, it is actually cheaper for the State of Tennessee to house prisoners in state prisons than in county jails, so this increase in punishment resulted in a decrease in state tax dollar expenditures per year,” explained Lawson.

“That is a good day when you can make an important change in the law, get justice for the families of victims whose loved ones have been murdered, and save the taxpayers money all at the same time,” said Lawson.

Both bills were supported by local Representatives Clark Boyd, Susan Lynn, Kelly Keisling, and Michael Hale and by local Senators Mark Pody, Ferrell Haile, Paul Bailey, and Ken Yager.

“We can propose ideas, but it takes our Senators and Representatives to make the changes happen. On behalf of the victims of crime, I am very grateful for the work and support of the Senators and Representatives that made these proposals realities,” said Lawson.