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criminal justice

Tennessee can charge people for crimes they didn’t commit, advocates want reform

Pierce Gentry, WUOT

May 12, 2025

Trousdale Turner Correctional Center

In Tennessee, prosecutors can charge people for crimes committed by another person, even if they weren’t directly responsible. Activist groups are working with state legislators to change that.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, WPLN News Tagged With: 114th Tennessee General Assembly, criminal justice, Free Hearts, restorative justice, Theeda Murphy

NashVillager Podcast: Changing up the courts

Nina Cardona

August 21, 2024

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What reforms could help those interacting with Tennessee’s court system? Plus the local news for August 21, 2024.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, NashVillager Podcast, WPLN News Tagged With: court system, criminal justice

In Tennessee, it’s a felony to camp on public land. This 87-year-old wanted to protest the law — and was arrested.

Cynthia Abrams

August 12, 2024

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Earlier this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cities can ban people from sleeping or camping in public places. In Tennessee, sleeping outside already came with the threat of a felony penalty.

Filed Under: Metro, WPLN News Tagged With: criminal justice, homelessness, protest

NashVillager Podcast: A Tennessee true crime story, revisited

Nina Cardona

August 12, 2024

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Who killed Pauline Pusser? Plus the local news for August 12, 2024.

Filed Under: History, NashVillager Podcast, WPLN News Tagged With: criminal justice

Resource guide: How domestic violence victims can navigate Tennessee’s justice system

Paige Pfleger

August 8, 2024

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After a year of investigating the holes in Tennessee’s system, WPLN News has compiled a guide on what options for protection are available under state law.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, WPLN News Tagged With: criminal justice, domestic violence, gun dispossession

Podcast Bonus: Treated ‘like I’m a dog,’ says one man jailed as a child by Rutherford County

Meribah Knight

November 2, 2023

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Quinterrius Frazier was 15 years old when he was arrested for aggravated robbery and held in the Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center. When staff said he was being disruptive — flashing gang signs and rapping, they claimed — he was placed in solitary confinement.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, WPLN News Tagged With: criminal justice, podcasts, Rutherford County juvenile justice, The Kids of Rutherford County

Formerly incarcerated people want their voting rights back. That’s why they’re suing Tennessee.

Char Daston

September 28, 2023

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Tennessee has one of the strictest policies of all US states for formerly incarcerated people who want to vote. The state permanently bars people with felony convictions from voting unless they meet a rigorous set of standards and get the court that sentenced them to sign off. Recently, the state got even stricter, making the […]

Filed Under: Programs Tagged With: criminal justice, prison, voting rights

Fix systemic racism? Nashville mayoral candidates fumble to offer actions at candidate forum.

Caroline Eggers

July 10, 2023

Systemic racism has caused uneven poverty, incarceration, educational achievement and health outcomes in Nashville.  What is the next mayor planning to do about it? 

Filed Under: Politics, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: criminal justice, Mayoral Race 2023, racism

A Black family from Georgia is still not reunited with their five kids who were taken into DCS custody in Tennessee

Paige Pfleger

March 20, 2023

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It’s been about a month since Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams were separated from their five children following a traffic stop in rural Tennessee.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, WPLN News Tagged With: Coffee County, criminal justice, DCS, Department of Children's Services, juvenile justice

How Tennessee’s rape kit backlog impacts survivors seeking justice

Anna Gallegos-Cannon

March 15, 2023

Crime Lab
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On this episode, we’ll examine the process of getting a rape kit and reporting an assault, talk about the toll of waiting for answers, and explore the reasons why justice is hard to come by.

Filed Under: Programs Tagged With: criminal justice, sexual assault, Sexual Assault Center

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