Tennessee's Fresh Crooks Inclusive of Guns Law

Tennessee's Fresh Crooks Inclusive of Guns Law
there is a smattering of fresh laws going into result into Tennessee come January 1, 2008. always the mainly interesting to me, considering pardon I perform on a daily basis, are the new criminal statutes. The Crooks inclusive of Guns legislation, as it has been entitled, drastically increases the punishments intended gun similar crimes associated with the commission of certain enumerated "dangerous felonies". The operative elements of the fresh TCA 39-17-1324 are as follows:
(a) Possessing a firearm with the intent to go armed during the commission of otherwise try to commit a unsafe felony
(b) Possessing a firearm throughout
1. the commission of a dangerous felony;
2. an try to commit a unsafe felony;
3. flight or escape from the commission of a dangerous felony;
4. flight otherwise escape from the attempt to commit a dangerous felony.
The teeth are into the sentencing. If the defendant have a prior felony conviction, the legislation creates a new group of felony, essentially a "Super C group" also a "super D group". Violations of subsection (b) are deemed a group C felony, but claim a mandatory minimum ten (10) year condemn inclusive of zero release eligibility, moreover negative option intended supervised release. however, the standard group C felony for a vary I offender is three (3) to six (6) years. The new law stands lonely at a minimum of ten (10) years, regardless of the range of the offender (this isn't problematic inclusive of vary II offenders, where the vary itself is six (6) to ten (10) years, where the minimum simply becomes the maximum already allowed in the vary). A violation of subsection (a) is a Class D felony, inclusive of a minimum condemn of five (5) years if the defendant have a prior felony conviction. lacking a prior felony conviction, the minimums are six (6) moreover three (3) years, respectively.
As excellent, jail credit is tweaked inclusive of the fresh law. in department of Correction custody, one typically qualifies intended "acceptable era", which is usually aquiring three days of credit opposed to your condemn for each two you supply (standard into local Davidson County custody, which is for sentences beneath six (6) years, is two days for every single day you supply). The Crooks inclusive of Guns legislation largely eliminates such good time - akin to federal sentencing rules, you can completed your sentence negative beforehand than following having served 85% of it.
single aspect of the proposed change in the gun laws puzzles me, however, into amending TCA 39-17-1307, possessing a deadly weapon that is not a firearm in the commission of a "dangerous felony" as listed into the Crooks inclusive of Guns legislation is a standard group E felony. That piece makes sense, also would apply to knives, pool cues, baseball bats, etc. nevertheless, possessing a firearm into the commission, attempt to commit or escape seeing as a non-unsafe "offense" (memo, not felony) is a group E felony. A amalgamation E felony entails a one (1) to two (2) 365 day term sentence intended a range I offender. thus, into essence, if you own a firearm meantime committing the to the lowest degree serious misdemeanor, you perhaps suffer a felony conviction (think Driving on a Suspended License because of unpaid tickets, otherwise Criminal Trespass, both amalgamation C Misdemeanors - moreover the way it is written, possessing a valid concealed convey permit wouldn't substance a lick).
To me, this part seems to be an overreach of the law, also would manoeuver entirely external the spirit of the Crooks inclusive of Guns legislation. Hopefully the amended wording won't be enforced into that manner, but inclusive of the method the legislature wrote it, my reading certainly confirms the new legislation would permit it.