MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After calling for an investigation into a Shelby County judge and the District Attorney General’s office over what he called “illegal restorative justice schemes,” Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor is now demanding more information about the D.A.’s office.
Taylor (TN- Dist. 31) announced Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, he sent a letter to the Tennessee District Attorneys Conference asking for documents related to the Shelby County D.A.’s office’s agreement with outside restorative justice agencies. Taylor claims the groups are aimed at decreasing prosecutions and eliminating bail, and calls the efforts an “experiment.”
Taylor said D.A. Steve Mulroy has agreements with at least three groups: Justice Innovation Lab, Vera Institute, and Just City.
In the letter, Taylor wants to know just how much influence Just City has in the bail process in Shelby County, and if other groups have the same access to data which Just City has.
“Memphians have a right to know if the agreements between the DA’s office and these outside groups are inconsistent with state laws and policies. The District Attorney’s job is to further his prosecutorial duties, not embark on a restorative justice campaign,” commented Taylor.
Taylor is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and said he wants the members to review the documents between the D.A.’s office and the justice groups.
“Our citizens deserve to know if they are being used in a restorative justice experiment,” said Taylor.
In response to the letter, Shelby County D.A. Steve Mulroy sent ABC24 the following statement:
"This is baseless. We announced publicly the partnerships with these expert groups many months ago. There is nothing illegal about them. Consulting arrangements with national expert groups are joint in DA offices, including my predecessor, who had several. Indeed, for years, the county (including under Republican officials) has had the Vera Institute as a consulting vendor, one of the very organizations Sen. Taylor’s criticizing me about now.
Sen. Taylor called for no investigations then, nor when crime rose steadily over a decade under my predecessor, nor when she did the same thing in the Pervis Payne case that Taylor recently criticized me for doing in the Michael Sample case. It’s hard not to suspect this is political, especially when his last press release was sent by a conservative campaign consulting firm, not by his Senate office.
For weeks now, I’ve been trying to get a meeting with Sen. Taylor to explain to him the new solid public safety initiatives we have on nonfatal shootings, aggravated assaults, fast-tracking violent crimes, and more. Meanwhile, we’re focusing on reducing violent crime and justice reform, which is what the people of Shelby County voted for me to do."