Senator Brian Kelsey on Tuesday released the names of the witnesses scheduled to testify regarding proposed criminal justice reforms in Tennessee. The hearing will occur before the Senate Judiciary Committee Sept. 15 - 16.
“These experts will help us learn from other states how to best protect the public while saving taxpayer dollars. Our committee is privileged to partner with such talented witnesses in the effort to improve the criminal justice system in Tennessee,” said Senator Kelsey.
The witnesses will provide testimony on the following three subjects: 1) Criminal Justice Reform: How we got where we are in Tennessee, 2) Criminal Justice Reform: What other states have done, and 3) Criminal Justice Reform: Suggested changes for Tennessee.
The scheduled witnesses for the hearings are as follows:
· Sheriff Robert Arnold, Rutherford County
· Beth Ashe, Executive Director, Tennessee Corrections Institute
· Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper
· District Attorney General D.
Michael Dunavant, 25th Judicial District, Fayette, Hardeman, Lauderdale, McNairy, and Tipton Counties
· Paige Edwards, Tennessee Public Defender’s Conference
· Rebecca Silber and Nancy Fishman, VERA Institute of Justice
· Tommy Francis, Tennessee State Employees Association
· Mayor Terry Frank, Anderson County, Tennessee
· Commissioner Bill Gibbons, Tennessee Department of Safety
· Mark Gwyn, Director, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
· Marc Levin, Director, Center for Effective Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation
· Mayor Mark Luttrell, Shelby County, Tennessee
· John G. Malcolm, Director, Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies
· Richard Montgomery, Chairman, Tennessee Board of Parole
· Justin Owen, President/CEO, Beacon Center of Tennessee
· Chief David Rausch, Knoxville Police Department
· David Raybin, Esq., criminal defense attorney
· Justyna Scalpone, Tennessee Office of the Post-Conviction Defender
· Commissioner Derrick D. Schofield, Tennessee Department of Correction
· Chris Slobogin, Professor, Vanderbilt College of Law; member, Tennessee Consultation on Criminal Justice
· District Attorney General Barry Staubus, 2nd Judicial District, Sullivan County, Tennessee
· Thomas E. Tique, Chief Deputy Attorney, Tennessee General Assembly Office of Legal Services
· Commissioner E. Douglas Varney, Tennessee Department of Mental Health
· Hedy Weinberg, Executive Director, ACLU of Tennessee
· Charlie White, Director, Tennessee Association of Professional Bail Agents
· Judge John Everett Williams, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals
Senator Kelsey represents Cordova, East Memphis, and Germantown. He is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.