In the wake of rising crime across the city, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland addressed the citizens of the Bluff City in a weekly update.
With Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy’s new bail reform program in place, it’s making it easier for criminals to be released without bond and go right back to the streets.
CLICK HERE to join KWAM’s “Stop Memphis Crime” page. Follow our army of citizen journalists as they report crime news across the city.In his release, Strickland called the criminal justice system a “revolving door” and said his team delivered the letter below to every judge in Shelby County, including Mulroy:
Friends,
For many months now, I have written to you about the revolving door that has too often become our criminal justice system. Earlier this week, our office hand delivered the letter below to every Shelby County Criminal Court Judge, every Shelby County General Sessions Court Judge, and every Shelby County Judicial Commissioner, as well as a copy to the Shelby County District Attorney. You can see the language of the letter below.
March 8, 2023
Dear Judges and Judicial Commissioners:Over the last year, I visited every shift of officers in the Memphis Police Department. One of their main frustrations is having to encounter and arrest the same individuals over and over. This frustration is shared by the public.
During the last several months, I have spoken and written many times about the revolving door that is too often our current criminal justice system. For instance, see posts on August 5, 2022; December 16, 2022; November 11, 2022; October 14, 2022; April 8, 2022; and others at:
Memphistn.gov/government/mayor-jimstrickland/mayors-office/remarks-weekly-updates/Low Bonds: I believe that bonds are too often set far too low, which allows the system to resemble “catch and release.”
To go a step further, those committing the crimes know that our bonds are too low. Recently, a man threatened to kidnap and torture another person and later hit an officer with his car. When a witness tried to tell the man, “It was not worth it,” the man confidently replied that he “had bail money.”
Weak Sentences: Last year, I did a public record request. In Shelby County Criminal Court in 2021, there were 280 guilty verdicts involving only aggravated assault. Of those, 25 percent of them were granted judicial diversion or probation (no prison time), including the following:
- Defendant shot his roommate with a gun
- Drive-by shooting
- Defendant shot gun at victim and her child
- Defendant stabbed victim
- Defendant shot victim in the stomach
A more recent example: On July 14, 2021, a man pulled a gun on a Memphis police officer, who took cover behind a tree. The man fired three shots at the officer, and fortunately, none of them struck the officer. The suspect was later arrested in August and charged with attempted first-degree murder and other charges.
On December 7, 2022, a plea deal was reached, which the officer opposed, and the court approved it; the punishment was probation for eight years—no prison time.
With respect to people who steal cars or break into cars, MPD arrested over 2,300 people in 2022 for these two crimes, and virtually all of them are currently back in the community. There is very little punishment or rehabilitation for those who commit these crimes.
Our judicial system is broken. Because of lack of consequences, there is little deterrent effect on future actions of criminals.
I ask you to have zero tolerance for gun crime. Also, I ask that you be transparent and open to the public.
Currently, important public information, such as Bail Setting Forms and Judgments, are not available online and are only available if someone goes to the clerk’s office and requests these documents under a defendant’s name.
I am asking you to post every Bail Setting Form and Judgment on a website, so it is easily accessible to the public. This can be done. City government posts every contract on its website.
Also, the criminal court websites need to provide an easy mechanism for the public to express their opinions as to the decisions that are affecting their safety. At city hall, we have emails and telephone numbers for the public to use. I would ask that the judges and judicial commissioners offer an online portal for public comment.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Jim Strickland
Mayor
Cc:
Shelby County Criminal Court Judges:
Honorable Paula Skahan
Honorable Jennifer Fitzgerald
Honorable James Jones, Jr.
Honorable Carolyn Wade Blackett
Honorable Melissa Boyd
Honorable Carlyn Addison
Honorable David Pool
Honorable Lee Coffee
Honorable Chris Craft
Honorable Jennifer Mitchell
Shelby County General Session Criminal Judges:
Honorable Bill Anderson, Jr.
Honorable Lee Wilson
Honorable Sheila B. Renfroe
Honorable Greg Gilbert
Honorable Karen Massey
Honorable Ronald S. Lucchesi
Honorable Louis J. Montesi, Jr.
Honorable Christian R. Johnson
Judicial Commissioners:
Honorable Rhonda Harris
Honorable Robert Barber
Honorable John Marshall
Honorable Kevin Reed
Honorable Shayla Purifoy
Honorable Chris Ingram
Honorable Mischelle Alexander-Best
Honorable Ross Sampson
Honorable Serena Gray
Honorable Terita Hewlett
Honorable Kathy Kirk-Johnson
Honorable Zayid Saleem
Honorable Kenya Smith
Honorable Leslie Mozingo
District Attorney Steve Mulroy
I wanted to share this with you today for a couple reasons. One, to let you know we are not just sitting back and not working to find solutions to our crime challenge. And two, I wanted you to see the names of those who received the letter and what we are asking them to do. If we are going to tackle our crime challenge, it will take everyone working together to do it.
Read the rest of the release here.
