At the end of the last legislative session, the Tennessee General Assembly quietly passed a law that could upend the state’s juvenile justice system. The law, commonly referred to as “blended sentencing,” will keep children in the juvenile justice system longer. It is also expected to push more kids into the adult criminal justice system.
Children subject to blended sentencing will receive a juvenile and adult sentence for the same crime. The juvenile sentence must last until the young person turns 19, while the adult sentence could last until they turn 24.
By law, the juvenile justice system must aim to rehabilitate youth. But blended sentencing is “the opposite of rehabilitation,” said Judge Aftan Strong, chief magistrate of Memphis-Shelby County’s Juvenile Court.
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Blended sentencing goes into effect in January. In the meantime, judicial and law enforcement officials across Tennessee are still trying to figure out how they will implement the law. “The law has caused a lot of confusion,” Strong said. “It is a very complicated bill.”
If blended sentencing is difficult for juvenile judges to understand, it might be even harder for parents and children to interpret. So, MLK50 has broken down how the new law works.
Which offenses qualify for blended sentencing?
The full list of offenses includes first-degree or second-degree murder (in the case of children age 14-15), rape, aggravated rape, rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, aggravated robbery, especially aggravated robbery, especially aggravated burglary, aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated kidnapping, commission of an act of terrorism, carjacking, aggravated child abuse or aggravated child neglect or endangerment, and “any other Class A or Class B felony offense involving the use of a deadly weapon during the commission of the offense” or criminal attempt “to commit any Class A felony offense.”
Only certain children will qualify for blended sentencing — generally, children 14 years or older who are charged with an offense considered a class A or B felony if committed by an adult. The child must receive a blended sentence if any of the following are true: This is the child’s second such offense, or if the local district attorney requests it, or if the child is 14 or 15 years old and has been charged with first or second-degree murder.
Children prosecuted under the law will have the right to a jury trial, said Jasmine Ying Miller, a senior attorney at Youth Law Center. These trials would take place in a circuit or criminal court since there are no jury trials in juvenile courts in Tennessee.
Prosecutors could threaten to transfer children to the adult system if they do not waive their right to a jury trial, Miller added. If children waive that right, they will receive a hearing before a juvenile judge.
Defining terms
Juvenile court uses its own set of terms, some of which differ from criminal court. In juvenile court, “delinquent” means “guilty,” and a “disposition” is equivalent to a sentence.
If children are found delinquent, they will receive a juvenile disposition and an adult sentence from a juvenile judge. This adult sentence will be stayed; a judge will determine whether the youth will actually serve that sentence just before their 19th birthday.
Under blended sentencing, a juvenile disposition must last until the youth offender turns 19. This time could be served in various ways, including probation, incarceration, a change in temporary custody or permanent guardianship, commitment to the Department of Children’s Services, or community service. For the youngest children sentenced under the law, this would likely mean probation or commitment to DCS, said Miller.
It’s unclear what this would look like in practice, said Strong.
“Right now, if our children are on probation, they’re on probation for six months,” she said.
“Juvenile courts are trying to kick it into gear and figure out what probation would possibly look like for four or five years.”
The legislation also “hasn’t funded any programming or services” that might rehabilitate juvenile offenders during this time, said Zoe Jamail, policy coordinator at Disability Rights Tennessee.
Strong is concerned that a blanket requirement to keep serious youthful offenders until 19 may hurt, not rehabilitate, children.
“We are doing the complete opposite of what research tells us we’re supposed to be doing because it makes us feel better,” she said.
Most juvenile probations can be completed effectively in six months, Annie E. Casey Foundation research shows. By contrast, longer probation periods do not improve a child’s outcomes — they do, however, make it more likely that they will violate their probation, according to a 2021 study.
Under Tennessee’s blended sentencing law, a single probation violation could be the difference between walking free at 19 and serving an adult sentence.
Juvenile judges will be required to consider five factors when determining if a youth will serve an adult sentence: whether the youth has committed another delinquent act, whether they have engaged in “conduct that creates a substantial safety risk,” whether they have failed to meet their “conditions of supervision,” and whether they have failed to meet certain educational and employment standards.
How will judges determine who has to serve an adult sentence?
Under blended sentencing, the following actions could contribute to a youth having to serve an adult sentence once their juvenile sentence concludes:
- Committing another delinquent act
- Engaging in other conduct that creates a substantial safety risk
- Failing to meet the conditions of supervision during the determinate disposition prior to the hearing;
- Failing to:
- Attend school regularly with passing grades unless prevented by illness;
- Graduate from high school;
- Obtain a high school equivalency credential approved by the state board of education; or
- Regularly attend a Tennessee college of applied technology with passing grades; or
- Failing to obtain regular employment or enroll in an institution of higher education if the offender has graduated from high school or obtained a high school equivalency credential approved by the state board of education.
If four or more of these criteria are met, the judge is required to impose an adult sentence. The length of that adult sentence can vary, but it must end by the age of 24. It can be served on probation or in prison.
Miller points out criteria like “engaging in conduct that creates a substantial safety risk” and “failing to meet the conditions of supervision” could encompass a wide range of common — and legal — teenage behavior.
For example, a child could plausibly create a “safety risk” by sitting on the roof of their house, riding in the car with an unlicensed driver, or attending a party where attendees engage in underage drinking, even if they themselves are not drinking.
Meanwhile, if a child is on probation, they could potentially fail to meet the conditions of their supervision by sneaking out at night or skipping school. Children can also violate probation by “associating” with known gang members — which, Miller points out, could be difficult to avoid if those gang members attend the same school or live on the same street. Depending on local rules, children can even violate probation by having certain haircuts, said Miller.
Only one of these criteria considers whether a serious youthful offender has committed another offense. So, under the wording of the law, a serious youthful offender could trigger the adult portion of their sentence without breaking the law again.
Rebecca Cadenhead is the youth and juvenile justice reporter for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. She is also a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Email her [email protected].
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