Plain English Breakdown
Checked against official source text during the last sync.
Victim Protection Act
This bill changes Tennessee law to require consecutive sentences for crimes involving multiple minor victims unless there is strong evidence against it.
What This Bill Does
- Requires judges to order consecutive sentences for crimes involving more than one minor victim, unless the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that this would not be fair or in the best interest of justice.
- Changes Tennessee law by adding new subsection (e) to an existing section about sentencing rules.
Who It Names or Affects
- Judges who sentence people convicted of crimes involving multiple minor victims
- People convicted of crimes against minors
Terms To Know
- Consecutive sentences
- When a person's time in jail for one crime starts after they finish serving time for another crime.
- Preponderance of the evidence
- The amount of proof needed to show that something is more likely true than not true.
Limits and Unknowns
- Passage of this bill will result in an increase in state incarceration expenditures, but the precise timing and impact cannot be determined with reasonable certainty.
- This bill applies only to crimes committed on or after July 1, 2026.