Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Tom Cotton (R-AR), along with Representative David Kustoff (R-TN-08), introduced a bill last week that attempts to strengthen penalties for violent, repeat offenders.
The Restoring the Armed Career Criminal Act (RCCA) would make a slight adjustment to the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA).
The ACCA was a law passed in 1984, which required felons to serve 15 years in prison if they were found guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm. This law applied to felons who had three separate prior state or federal convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses.
This law defined a “serious drug offense” as crimes punishable by imprisonment for over 10 years. For a “violent felony,” it said those were crimes that had an element of threat, attempt, or use of physical force against another person, as well as burglary, arson, or extortion.
In addition to this, the ACCA had a residual clause, categorizing crimes similar to burglary, arson, or extortion as a violent felony.
In 2015, the Supreme Court struck down the ACCA’s residual clause in Johnson v. United States, saying it was too unconstitutionally vague.
After this Supreme Court ruling, many criminals sentenced under the ACCA were allowed premature releases, according to Blackburn’s press release.
To illustrate, in 2016, Cornelius Spencer, who was a gang member with nine felony convictions, was released five years before his prison sentence was supposed to finish. Two years after being released, he was accused of raping two people.
The fix RCCA would make to ACCA is that it would do away with the different classifications of “violent felony” and “serious drug offense” and replace them with a single category of “serious felony.”
The bill defines a “serious felony” as a crime that is punishable by 10 years or more. This definition change will remove the ambiguity surrounding the ACCA’s sentencing guidelines.
Blackburn said “violent, repeat offenders have no business being back on our streets.”
She added that America has seen “heartbreaking consequences of rewarding repeat offenders with the freedom to victimize more law-abiding Americans.”
“The Restoring the Armed Career Criminal Act would empower prosecutors to keep dangerous felons behind bars and prevent future tragedies,” the senator explained.
Echoing similar comments to Blackburn, Kustoff said “career criminals are a danger to our citizens and our communities.” He also stated he appreciated working with Blackburn and Cotton “on this important bill.”
The RCAA has many prominent supporters, such as Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis), the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Association of Police Organizations, and the National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition.
Taylor thanked Blackburn and Kustoff for introducing this bill. He called it an “important” piece of legislation that “ensures serious federal time for dangerous criminals.”
“Career criminals with guns put our communities at risk. This legislation restores prosecutors’ ability to seek appropriate enhanced penalties for dangerous repeat offenders while ensuring the law meets constitutional standards,” the state senator explained.
This bill could have some effect in Memphis, which Taylor represents.
In May, FBI Director Kash Patel labeled Tennessee’s second biggest city as the “homicide capital of America.”
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at [email protected].
