When Pervis Payne walked into a Memphis courtroom on Tuesday morning, he hugged his attorney and sobbed.
Community organizations call on Nashville to put COVID relief money toward policing alternatives
The city has already set aside about $2 million of its normal budget for anti-violence programs. But many activists say that’s not enough.
Memphis DA agrees to drop man’s death sentence, following new law barring executions of people with intellectual disabilities
Pervis Payne was sentenced to death in 1988 for killing a woman and her daughter. Since his conviction, courts have ruled that people with intellectual disabilities should not be executed.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee says unvaccinated cops from New York to L.A. are welcome in his state
The Tennessee Highway Patrol is offering moving costs, full benefits, a car, free uniforms and free training to qualified applicants, including those who have to leave other departments because they haven’t gotten the COVID vaccine.
A high-profile civil rights attorney is calling for a federal investigation into a Rutherford County prosecutor accused of discrimination
A prominent civil rights attorney wants the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate a Rutherford County prosecutor.
Nashville police adds violent crime unit, in latest embrace of a new strategy
The latest effort in MNPD Chief John Drake’s “precision policing” philosophy is a new Violent Crime Division to investigate carjackings, armed robberies and other serial violent crimes.
The NAACP wants a federal investigation into a local prison they say is unsafe and poorly managed
Nashville’s chapter of the NAACP is urging the state to shut down a private prison that has been sanctioned in the past for staffing shortages and unsafe conditions.
A Nashville man will be removed from death row after years of legal back and forth
A criminal court judge has decided for a second time that Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman should spend the rest of his life behind bars but won’t face execution.
Nashville police discipline a captain for sexual harassment, but allow him to retire in good standing
A high-ranking Nashville police officer is retiring after facing discipline for alleged sexual harassment. The department learned about the allegation from a local organization that advocates for employees who say they have been mistreated by fellow police.
As Nashville experiments with alternatives to policing, this teen has some ideas to curb violence in his community
Nashville is experimenting with a new funding model to support community groups working to prevent violence.
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