Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy gave details about an “aggressive prosecution” strategy to Memphis media on Tuesday, promising to target those who commit specific offenses with a new strategy beginning in 2024.
Mulroy (pictured above) said he will modify his office’s practices regarding bail, court deadlines, and investigations for those accused of committing a number of violent and property crimes beginning on January 1, according to News Channel 3.
Those who attempt or commit first-degree murder, second-degree murder, carjackings, aggravated robbery or assault, violent sex offenses, and other, similar crimes will be considered a “priority violent offender” by Mulroy’s office, the outlet reported.
Mulroy plans to modify his bail strategy by seeking “some kind of court-ordered monitoring, like a GPS or ankle monitor,” the outlet reported, adding that Mulroy’s office “will immediately move to revoke bail” if a defendant is rearrested. The district attorney also intends to “contact victims’ families within 24 hours” and “set internal deadlines for prosecutors” to secure speedy trials, and “monitor jail calls” and “check all ballistics against a national database” to improve investigations.
He acknowledged that judges must agree to his requests, but Fox 13 reported he was “cautiously optimistic” that judges will agree.
Memphis experienced a 9.6 percent surge in all crime in 2023, with the increase driven by a 5 percent increase in major violent crime and a 26 percent increase in major property crime. The murder rate is up 42.4 percent, robberies are up 18.9 percent, and aggravated assaults have risen 2 percent.
The announcement came only days after Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) requested oversight for Mulroy’s agreements with three “restorative justice” organizations and participation in the “illegal” release of a convicted criminal who was sentenced to 162 years in prison, which Taylor said happened with the assistance of Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Shelby Skahan.
Mulroy defended his office’s agreements in an interview last week, claiming Taylor’s complaints were political and noting Taylor had not made previous complaints about Mulroy’s predecessor. Taylor told The Tennessee Star that he now has the power to object since his 2022 election to the Tennessee Senate.
In comments made in response to Mulroy’s claims about his criticisms, Taylor observed to The Star that his campaign received more votes “in a single senate district” than Mulroy received from all of Shelby County during the 2022 elections.
Taylor said this means Mulroy “doesn’t have a mandate for all of these restorative justice schemes.” Instead, citing his “tough-on-crime” campaign, Taylor said “more of a mandate exists to oppose such measures.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Steve Mulroy” by Shelby County District Attorney, Steve Mulroy Campaign.Â
Why didn’t it begin in 2023?
So why don’t you figure out what “some kind of court monitoring”is, Steve? Better yet , why don’t you actually read up on its effectiveness? Here, let me help – https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2023/01/report-ankle-monitoring-didnt-stop-dallas-murder-suspects/
– and there’s plenty more where that came from. But I suspect you are already aware that jail monitoring doesn’t work , because of your comment about revoking bail for a re-arrest. Clue- rearrest should NEVER have to be considered. It’s what real law enforcement calls a “deterrent “. I’ll bet nobody has thought of this one – BUILD MORE JAILS – and no BS excuses about money or approvals from grand – potentates, or whoever you fill in the blank with. Lastly, take a page out of Sheriff Grady Judd’s book