EDITOR’S NOTE: In the United States, federal trials carry a prohibition against recording by the media. In our commitment to community-centered reporting, we asked contributing artist Mikhaila Markham to help us bear witness by illustrating scenes from the frontlines of accountability.
In the most functional sense, a trial is a community event. The American criminal legal system presents courts and their due process as a way to address our collective grievances and repair what’s been harmed. The widely circulated video of Memphis police officers fatally beating Tyre Nichols laid bare where harm happened. The recently concluded federal trial against three of those officers showed that repair is much harder to see..
Last week, a federal jury of their peers found Tadarrius Bean, Justin Smith and Demetrius Haley guilty of some charges related to the death of Tyre Nichols. Bean and Smith were convicted of witness tampering, but acquitted of civil rights charges. Haley was convicted of violating Nichols’ civil rights by causing bodily harm (a lesser charge that absolves the officer from causing his death), witness tampering and conspiring to hide the officers actions. They were acquitted of more serious civil rights charges they were facing.
“Tyre should be alive today, and while nothing can bring him back, today’s guilty verdicts bring a measure of accountability for his senseless and tragic death,” said the family’s attorney Ben Crump in a statement following the verdicts. Other officials echoed the sentiment that they were grateful the officers were held partially accountable.
Cases like these offer a unique perspective on the limits of our current criminal legal system. The individual police officers in the case are being held responsible by a series of charges tailored to each one’s respective involvement on the scene.
We’ve watched how Tyre’s family, particularly his parents, respond to the expectations that accompany their visibility. They are stewards of their son’s legacy, fighting to prevent it from being erased by the system that allowed his death to happen. They are fighting to keep another life from being robbed rather than protected. They know the pain of the wounds they carry in the wake of his death and how elusive it is to find healing.
This trial’s conclusion, while holding these police officers to account, comes up short in addressing the violent systemic issues that created the circumstances that led to Tyre’s death and keep our communities under oppression. Healing requires justice, but scenes of justice in our criminal legal system are rare.
Mikhaila Markham, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
SEPT. 20, 2024 | The three defendants — Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith and Taddarius Bean — were all seated along the left wall, facing the jury. They did not testify during the proceedings. While they were tried together, each faced individual charges and was represented by their own attorney. During the trial, the attorneys repeatedly shifted blame onto the other defendants.
Mikhaila Markham, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
SEPT. 20, 2024 | (Left) Federal judge Mark S. Norris presided over the case. (Right) Dr. Marco Ross, the chief medical examiner who wrote Tyre Nichols’ autopsy report, testified to the internal and external injuries Nichols suffered. “Nothing would have reversed it [the brain damage] other than preventing the cardiac arrest,” Ross said. “There is nothing that would have made those injuries heal any more quickly.”
Mikhaila Markham, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
SEPT. 25, 2024 | Former Memphis police officer Desmond Mills testified for the prosecution over two days. “I made his child fatherless,” an emotional Mills said from the stand on the first day. In the cross examination, attorney John Keith Perry — representing Bean — asserted that Mills was the only officer whose hands were free, and therefore the only officer who could have prevented former officer Emmitt Martin III from beating Nichols. Mills denied this, maintaining that any one of the officers on scene could have intervened. Faced with charges of his own, Mills pleaded guilty last fall to civil rights and conspiracy charges arising from Nichols’ death.
Mikhaila Markham, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
OCT 3. 2024 | Activists, elected officials, and friends attended court regularly alongside the Wells family to observe and offer comfort. Pictured here are (left to right) Amber Sherman, a Memphis-rooted activist; Keyana Dixon, Tyre’s older sister and Tennessee state representative Justin J. Pearson.
Mikhaila Markham, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
SEPT. 27, 2024 | After a morning of testimony, Judge Norris dismissed the jury for a break. People in court are asked to stand and wait when that happens. Most stood facing forward. As she stood, RowVaughn Wells turned towards the aisle and paused before walking out.
Mikhaila Markham, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
SEPT. 25, 2024 | Haley, Bean, and Smith listened to former Memphis police officer Desmond Mills testify in detail about the choices they made together to cover up their role in killing Tyre Nichols.
Mikhaila Markham, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
OCT. 2, 2024 | (Left) Attorneys John Keith Perry, representing Bean, and (right) Martin Zummach, representing Smith, during their closing arguments. Perry used a visual aid to chart what he argued was a case against his client that did not meet a burden of proof for his guilt. According to him, Bean was following Memphis Police Department policies, broken as they are, faithfully. “Make the decision, the right decision, because you got the receipts,” Perry said. “Don’t defund the police. Refund Mr. Bean.” Zummach’s closing asked the jury to consider the key roles Martin and Mills, the two officers who already pleaded guilty, took in the beating and attempted cover-up when making a decision about Smith. He also referred to his client’s former supervisor, a retired police officer, who said: “If it was one of my kids that had done something to be arrested, I’d want Justin arresting them.”
Mikhaila Markham, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
OCT. 2, 2024 | (Left) Attorney Stephen Leffler, representing Haley, used a large timer to illustrate to the court how much time elapsed before his client made it to the second scene of the MPD’s stop on Nichols. It was at the second scene, a few feet away from his mother’s home, where the fatal assault on Nichols took place. (Top right) RowVaughn Wells and (bottom right) Judge Norris watch.
Mikhaila Markham, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
OCT. 3, 2024 | After the jury handed down their verdict, Tyreece Miller (right), the United States Marshal for the Western District of Tennessee, escorted the three former police officers out of the courtroom.
Mikhaila Markham is a visual artist based in Memphis. Her work can be viewed on her website: mikhailamarkham.com
Andrea Morales is the visuals director for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Email her at andrea.morales@mlk50.com
State leaders, advocates, and community groups have voiced their sentiments and reactions as a jury reached a verdict in the Tyre Nichols trial, finding three officers guilty of witness tampering.
Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, and Tadarrius Bean, all former Memphis Police Department officers, were convicted on federal felony charges.
The jurors deliberated for six hours on Thursday in the federal trial regarding federal civil rights violations during the January 7, 2023, traffic stop that resulted in Nichols’ death.
According to Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, attorneys for the Nichols family, “Haley was acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights causing death.” Both Smith and Bean were also acquitted of civil rights charges.
“The jury also convicted Haley and former MPD officers Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith for their effort to cover up excessive force against Nichols by omitting material information and providing misleading and false statements to their MPD supervising lieutenant and an MPD detective who was tasked with writing the report documenting this incident,” the United States Department of Justice said in a statement.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 2025.
In a statement released by both attorneys following the verdict, Crump and Romanucci said justice has prevailed for Tyre Nichols and his family.
“The guilty verdicts reached today send a powerful message that law enforcement officers who commit crimes will be held accountable under the law. Tyre’s family is relieved that all three officers were found guilty and taken into custody for their loved one’s death. Tyre should be alive today, and while nothing can bring him back, today’s guilty verdicts bring a measure of accountability for his senseless and tragic death,” the statement said.
Here are more reactions from both national and local leaders following the verdict.
Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis)
“Today’s verdict brings a measure of justice for Tyre Nichols’ family, who have endured unimaginable pain since his tragic and senseless death. While no verdict can bring Tyre back, the conviction of these officers is a critical step in holding those responsible accountable. This verdict allows Tyre’s family to begin to heal and look to the future, knowing that justice was served. We must continue working to ensure that no family in Memphis — or anywhere else — ever has to endure such heartache again. I remain committed to fighting for reforms that will protect our communities and prevent these tragedies from happening in the future.”
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy
“We commend the diligent work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The public deserves to know that those who enforce the law are not above the law: If they use excessive force they’ll be held accountable. While the verdict may not be everything hoped for, we’re fully prepared to move forward with the State’s case. We will await sentencing in federal court, consult with U.S. Attorney’s Office counsel, and take appropriate steps in state court.”
Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9)
“I am pleased that the jury found the officers guilty but was surprised that they weren’t found guilty of the charges that resulted in Tyre Nichols’ death.”
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division
“All three former Memphis Police Department officers were convicted of federal felonies for their role in Tyre Nichols’ death. They join two additional former officers who had already pled guilty. With these convictions, all five of the former officers involved in the death of Mr. Nichols have been convicted of federal felonies. Tyre Nichols should be alive today. We extend our condolences to the family and loved ones of Mr. Nichols. We hope this prosecution provides some measure of comfort as the law enforcement officers tied to his death have been held accountable. We thank the trial team for their extraordinary dedication to prosecuting this case, and we thank the jury for their service. We will never rest in our ongoing efforts to ensure that law enforcement officers are held accountable for violating people’s civil and constitutional rights.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren for the Western District of Tennessee “A basic principle for our system of justice is that there is — and there only can be — one rule of law. Law enforcement officers must be held to the same rules as the citizens they’re sworn to protect. More than a year ago, this office made a commitment to following the truth where it led in this case. Thanks to our trial team who worked tirelessly over the past 21 months to ensure that this case was properly investigated and tried and to the men and women in the jury for their service. The defendants have been found guilty of serious federal felonies and face significant penalties for those actions.”
The conceptual design for the Tyre Nichols Memorial is slated to be revealed midsummer per The Skatepark Project (TSP.)
According to The Skatepark Project’s director of grants and skatepark development, Trevor Staples, the next steps in the development process will be to unveil the design that was created based on community input.
“This concept will allow stakeholders throughout the community to see not only the potential size and scope of the entire project [and] inclusiveness of the skatepark,” Staples said in a statement.
In April, the Tyre Nichols Foundation along with TSP held a design charette at the National Civil Rights Museum, where community members and stakeholders were allowed to share input on what they would like to see at the skatepark.
Photo Credit: Tyre Nichols Foundation via Facebook
“Successful public skateparks begin with involvement of the community,” Staples said. “The goal of this project is to not only have a place for young people to engage in free, healthy, outdoor recreation, but to create a gathering place for community members across the Memphis area.”
This will be the second skatepark dedicated to Nichols, as TSP helped revamp a skatepark in Sacramento, California with the support from Vans.
“Although we didn’t know him personally, Tyre was part of our community – the skate community – a community that bonds us together,” Staples said. “With that, TSP wanted to support Tyre’s family through amplification of their fundraising efforts, which brought us together and since then we have been working with them in a larger capacity to help their goal of building a skatepark in his honor.”
Keyana Dixon, Nichols’ oldest sister and founder of the Tyre Nichols Foundation, said one of the best ways to honor her brother’s memory is to give back to the community and honor all aspects of his life.
“What I’ve noticed from all of this is that Memphis is a pretty rough place, but he was able to find all the beautiful things there,” Dixon said. “He really enjoyed Memphis — he loved it. It’s a way to have his energy and his space there. It’s hard to stay, but everytime I come to Memphis, I can feel my brother. Like all the love, community support … it’s just felt all the time.”
Dixon said the charette, in conjunction with the community and partners such as TSP and the “Hip-Hop Architect” Michael Ford, showed overwhelming support for the skatepark, knowing that it would not only be a great way to commemorate Nichols, but a safe space for citizens.
“It’s going to draw people from all over the world to come visit the skatepark. It’s going to be a safe space to build relationships and that’s what we got from the charette.
Community input is extremely important to the Tyre Nichols Foundation and TSP in designing the skate park. Both organizations spoke about the many communities being represented in these collaborations.
“It was a lot of skaters, a lot of people from all different walks of life,” Dixon said. “Old, young, Black, white — it didn’t matter, everyone was there in support of this project in honor of my brother.”
TSP and the Tyre Nichols Foundation hope to have a location confirmed by the end of the year.
It is a matter of record that Republican Governor Bill Lee easily won reelection in 2022, routing his Democratic opponent Jason Martin with 67 percent of the statewide point.
The under-financed, relatively unknown Martin, an emergency physician from Sumner County, was never really competitive, winning only two of Tennessee’s 95 counties — the state’s two remaining Democratic strongholds of Shelby (Memphis) and Davidson (Nashville).
But more to the point of this year’s state elections, Martin also came out ahead two years ago in state House District 97, site of a likely showdown this year between GOP incumbent John Gillespie and his probable Democratic challenger, businessman Jesse Huseth.
Gillespie was first elected in 2020, when he edged out Democrat Gabby Salinas at a time when District 97, which straddled the eastern boundary line of Memphis, was already evenly enough divided to make for a competitive race.
As Martin’s strong showing indicated, redistricting after the 2000 census shifted the district’s center of balance even more definitively into Memphis. But Gillespie was able to win reelection two years ago over unsung Democrat Toniko Harris.
During his first two terms, Gillespie maintained the kind of moderate political profile that was called for in a district that, in the current parlance, is neither red nor blue but purple. But, as was noted here two weeks ago, Gillespie has moved perceptibly to the right on party-line issues, those having to do with law enforcement, especially.
He has sponsored legislation that would nullify the Memphis City Council’s action, in the wake of the beating death of Tyre Nichols by an MPD unit, to prohibit police from making preemptive traffic stops for minor offenses. And Gillespie moved his bill to that effect onto the House floor (and to passage) after, his critics maintain (on the basis of conversation captured in a somewhat ambiguous cell phone video), he had assured Nichols’ parents he would hold it for later.
Democrat Huseth sees no ambiguity in the video, maintaining that Gillespie “lied to the family of Tyre Nichols after promising to postpone the vote one week to allow them to attend. This is life under the Republican Supermajority and it has to end.”
Gillespie can count on generous financing as an incumbent, but Huseth, who has a fundraiser scheduled for next week and more in mind, clearly intends to run tough, with assistance from campaign manager Jeff Ethridge, the able activist who is the newly elected president of the Germantown Democratic Club.
• As suspended Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd moves ever closer to being ejected from office altogether, Shelby County voters are looking forward to the prospect of two special judicial elections in the not too distant future.
A legislative panel voted unanimously last week to recommend the removal from office of Boyd, who has been charged with various irregularities, including use of cocaine on the bench.
A successor will also be needed for Circuit Court Judge Mary Wagner, who has been named to the state Supreme Court.
Both circumstances will require a judicial panel to recommend potential successors to Governor Bill Lee, who may, at his discretion, select from the list or ask for additional names.
In both cases, whoever gets the governor’s nod would ordinarily serve until a special election can be arranged on the next August ballot that is scheduled at least 30 days from the date that the vacancies become official.
But the pending vacancies might not be filled at all if a bill advancing in the Assembly this week is passed. The bill by Rep. Andrew Farmer (R-Sevierville) and Sen. Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) would realize what has been a long-discussed redistributionist goal in some quarters — by the expedient of transferring the two aforementioned judicial seats from Shelby County to districts elsewhere in the state.
Tennessee Republicans cannot stand the federal government telling them what to do — especially when a Democrat’s in the White House — but they do love telling Tennessee’s biggest cities what to do.
Republicans cry “overreach,” in general, when the feds “impose” rules that “overrule the will of the people of Tennessee.” (All of those quoted words came from just one statement on abortion from Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, who yells “overreach!” the loudest.) But they call it “preemption” when they do it to Memphis and Nashville — their favorite targets — leaving big-city locals to bemoan that same overreach.
When punching up at the federal government, Tennessee conservatives send angry letters to the president lamenting rules they have to follow to get big “seductive” tax dollars. But they don’t often win much in this process.
When they punch down at cities, the power struggle really comes down to rural conservatives exerting whatever influence they have to temper (squash) the sometimes “woke” ideas of urban progressives. They have a lot of power to do this, as state law does, usually, preempt local law.
So, Republicans do what they want in the Tennessee General Assembly and say, “See you in court,” because cities don’t typically give up their authority without a legal fist fight. (This happens so much state Democrats say Republicans pass lawsuits, not laws.)
But cities lose these fights often. Some of that is thanks to the powerful state AG’s office, who gets in the ring for state conservatives. That office has even more punching power with a brand-new $2.25 million, 10-member unit. It force-feeds conservative priorities in Tennessee cities and blocks D.C.’s liberal agenda.
Here’s an example of this double-edged subversion: Skrmetti, the Republican AG, cried “overreach” when a 2022 USDA rule said LGTBQ kids had to have access to lunch at school. But when Memphis and Nashville tried to decriminalize cannabis in 2016, a state Republican said, “You just can’t have cities creating their own criminal code, willy-nilly.”
Same coin. Two sides. Yes, state law rules most times, but the premise of the argument is the same. State citizens and city locals know what’s best for them and pick their leaders accordingly. Then, an outsider who, maybe, doesn’t share their values, swoops in to make locals comply with theirs. It’s like, “Hi, you don’t know me but you’re doing it wrong and are going to do it my way.”
In this game, Memphis has been on the ropes at the legislature this year. State Republicans want to take away some of the power from the Shelby County district attorney. They want to remove a Memphis City Council decision on when Memphis Police Department (MPD) officers make traffic stops. They also wanted to dilute local control of the Memphis-Shelby County School (MSCS) board with members appointed by the governor. But they decided against it. Details on many of these and some from the past are below.
Meanwhile, some Republican lawmakers have looked up, wondering if they could really cut ties with the federal government. They took a serious, hard look at giving up $1 billion in federal education funding for state schools. They wanted to do it “the Tennessee way.” Left to guess what that meant, many concluded they hoped to eschew national discrimination protections for LGBTQ students.
This year, a state Republican hopes to establish state sovereignty. He wants to draw a clear line between state and fed powers and to install a committee to watch that line. It’s not a new idea, but it’s always had “don’t tread on me” vibes.
The road from Memphis City Hall, to the State Capitol, to Congress and the White House is littered with complaints (usually court papers) about political subversion. All the hollering and legal fights along the way have to leave voters wondering, who’s got the power?
Steve Mulroy (Photo: Steve Mulroy | Facebook)
District Attorney Power Battle
A legal battle over who has the power to decide on some death penalty cases has been waged since Republicans passed a bill here last year.
That bill stripped local control of post-conviction proceedings from local district attorneys and gave it to Skrmetti, the state AG. In Memphis, the bill seemed largely aimed at Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, with some concerned he may be lenient for those facing the death penalty.
“This sudden move appears to be a response to the choices of voters in both Davidson County and Shelby County, who elected prosecutors to support more restorative and less punitive policies,” Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty said at the time.
Larry McKay, who received two death sentences for the murders of two store clerks in Shelby County in 1981, requested a court review of previously unexamined evidence in his case. Despite the new law, McKay’s attorney sought to disqualify Skremtti’s office from reviewing the case because he was not elected.
His attorney argued the new law infringes on the responsibilities of local district attorneys. The big changes made in the legislation also violated the state constitution, the attorney said.
Mulroy agreed.
“The newly enacted statute is an unconstitutional effort to divest and diminish the authority granted to Tennessee’s district attorneys general by the Tennessee Constitution,” Mulroy said at the time. “The new statute violates the voting rights of such voters because it strips material discretion from district attorneys, who are elected by the qualified voters of the judicial district.”
But state attorneys did not agree.
“The General Assembly was entitled to take that statuary power away from the district attorneys and give it to the Attorney General in capital cases,” reads the court document. “They have done just that and their mandate must be followed.”
But in July Shelby County Judge Paula Skahan ruled the Republican legislation did violate the state constitution. New arguments on the case were heard by the Tennessee Criminal Court of Appeals earlier this month. No ruling was issued as of press time. However, an appeal of that ruling seems inevitable, likely pushing the case to the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Pretextual Stops
State Republicans are actively trying to undermine a unanimous decision of the Memphis City Council to stop police from pulling over motorists for minor things like a broken taillight, a loose bumper, and more.
This council move came three months after MPD officers beat and killed Tyre Nichols, who was stopped for a minor traffic infraction. The local law is called the Driving Equality Act in Honor of Tyre Nichols.
Council members said police time could be better spent, that the stops expose more people to the criminal justice system, and, as in the Nichols’ case, could be dangerous. The stops also disproportionately affect Black people, who make up about 64 percent of Memphis’ population but receive 74 percent of its traffic tickets, according to Decarcerate Memphis.
The council’s decision made national headlines. But it found no favor with Republican lawmakers.
Rep. John Gillespie (R-Bartlett) introduced a controversial bill this year that would end that practice and reestablish state control over local decisions on criminal justice.
“We’re simply saying a state law that’s been on the books for decades is what we’re going by here,” Gillespie told Tennessee Lookout earlier this month. “And if there are people that have problems with what state law is, then maybe they should change state law instead of enacting local ordinances that are in conflict with state law.”
He initially cooled on the matter, promising to pause his bill for further review after Nichols’ parents spoke at a press conference.
“I am just appalled by what Republicans are trying to do in this state,” Nichols’ father, Rodney Wells, said at the event.
Gillespie promised Nichols’ family he’d hold the bill but surprised many earlier this month when he brought it to the House floor for a vote, which it won. Some said Gillespie acted in bad faith. State Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) said he straight-up lied to Nichols’ family and subverted local power to boot.
“You, as a person who lives in Shelby County, seek to undo the will of the people of Memphis and Shelby County,” Pearson said on the House floor. “The Wells family spoke with him briefly; he told them this bill wouldn’t come up until probably next Thursday.”
The Senate approved the bill last Thursday. It now heads to Gov. Lee for signature.
Six school board members for Memphis-Shelby County Schools met with three state lawmakers representing Memphis on Feb. 14, 2024, at the state Capitol. Their agenda included pending legislation from Rep. Mark White and Sen. Brent Taylor, both Republicans, to authorize Gov. Bill Lee to appoint additional members to the board. (Photo: Courtesy Memphis-Shelby County Schools | Chalkbeat)
MSCS School Board
State Republicans want to control schools here, too.
Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis), chair of the House Education Committee, filed a bill earlier this year that would add six governor-appointed members (read: more Republican influence) to the MSCS board. When he filed the legislation, he said he was unimpressed with the slate of those vying for the district’s superintendent job and concerned about students falling behind state standards on reading and math.
“I’m very concerned about the district’s direction, and I just can’t sit back any longer,” White told Chalkbeat Tennessee. “I think we’re at a critical juncture.”
However, MSCS board chair Althea Greene said at the time that White’s proposal was unnecessary.
“We may have had some challenges, but more interference from the General Assembly is not warranted at this time,” she said. “We have to stop experimenting with our children.”
Since then, the MSCS board chose Marie Feagins as the district’s superintendent and she got to work early, before her contract was supposed to start. Also, White paused his bill earlier this month to give board members a chance to submit an improvement plan. White said the plan should show how they’ll improve on literacy, truancy, graduation rates, teacher recruitment, underutilized school buildings, and a backlog of building maintenance needs, among other things, according to Chalkbeat.
While it’s the newest move in state “overreach” into schools here, it’s hardly the first. State Republicans once seized dozens of schools in Memphis and Nashville as laboratories for what they called “Achievement School Districts.” After more than a decade, these schools only angered locals, showed abysmal student performance, and now seem to be on their way out.
Cannabis
For six weeks back in 2016, Memphis City Council members debated a move that would have decriminalized possession of small amounts of cannabis in the city.
Hundreds were (and are) arrested each year on simple possession charges, and most of those arrested were (and are) Black. Council members didn’t want cannabis legalization; they wanted to steer folks away from the criminal justice system. They hoped to keep them out of jail and avoid a criminal record, which could hurt their chances at housing, employment, and more.
The city council — even though some had reservations about it — said yes to this. So did the Nashville Metropolitan Council. State Republicans said no.
Upon their return to the Capitol in 2017, they got to work ensuring their control over local decisions on the matter. A bill to strip this control easily won support in the legislature and was signed by then-Gov. Bill Haslam, who said he acted on the will of state lawmakers.
“You just can’t have cities creating their own criminal code, willy-nilly,” Rep. William Lamberth (R-Cottontown), the bill’s House sponsor, told The Tennessean at the time.
Then-Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery issued an opinion that said, basically, cities can’t make laws that preempt state law. With that, Memphis resumed regular enforcement of cannabis laws.
Ranked Choice Voting
In two elections — 2008 and 2018 — Memphians chose how they wanted to pick their politicians, but they never got a chance to use it. State Republicans said no.
Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) would have allowed voters here to rank candidates on a ballot, doing away with the need for run-off elections that always see lower voter turnout. It was new and different but voters here “decided, over and over again, to give it a try,” reads a Commercial Appeal op-ed from 2022 by Mark Luttrell, former Shelby County mayor, and Erika Sugarmon, now a Shelby County commissioner.
However, state Republicans then-Sen. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) and Rep. Nathan Vaughan (R-Collierville) filed a bill to upend the voters’ decision for good with a bill to end RCV in Tennessee. Kelsey said it was about voter clarity. Opponents said it was about more.
“If the bill passes, it will disrespect Memphis voters, make a mockery of local control,” Luttrell and Sugarmon said in the op-ed.
In the end, the state won. The bill passed and RCV was banned, with added support and sponsorship of Memphis Democrats Rep. Joe Towns Jr. and the late Rep. Barbara Cooper.
State Sovereignty
“So, you hoe in your little garden and stay out of our garden,” said Rep. Bud Hulsey (R-Kingsport).
He was explaining to the House Public Service Committee last year how the country’s founders designed the separation of powers between the state and the federal governments, how it was supposed to work, anyway.
But federal government agencies — not elected officials — issue rules pushed on to “we, the people,” he said. They tear families apart. They split marriages. They end lifelong friendships, he said. They bring bankruptcy and suicide. He gave no more details than that. But he was sick of it and said the bill he brought would fix it.
When some Republicans here aren’t busy in committee or court, rending control from local governments, they like to think about state sovereignty. They want to defend Tennessee from the feds, especially when a Democrat is in the White House. They want to know what the exact rules are and to tell D.C. “don’t tread on me.”
Since at least 1995, bills like these have been filed here and there in the state legislature. There’s a new one pending now. In them, “sovereignty” sometimes sounds like a preamble to “secession.”
Hulsey’s bill didn’t go that far. He really wanted to set out a way to nullify D.C. rules he didn’t like. Lee’s office was against it, though. Senate Republicans were, too. The idea failed to even get a review in the Republican-packed Senate State and Local Government Committee. Conservatives worried “nullification” could also nullify big federal tax dollars.
That 1995 bill demanded, “The federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of its constitutionally delegated powers.” Another Republican sovereignty bill later would have voided the powers of any representative of the United Nations once they entered the state.
One in 2014 (that was signed by the governor) simply expressed the state’s sovereignty to set educational standards. A 2016 bill said the feds “seduce” states to go along with their new rules with federal funds they treat as grants, not as tax funds for the state. Another in 2013 would have formed a committee to see what financial and legal troubles could be in store for Tennessee if it scaled back or quit the “state’s participation in the various federal programs.”
Ten years later, this idea is back. The “Tennessee State Sovereignty Act of 2024” would form a 10-person committee to watch and see if any federal rule violates the Tennessee State Constitution. If it does, “it is the duty of both the residents of this state and the General Assembly to resist.”
Now, if that don’t say “don’t tread on me” …
In the Senate, the bill was deferred until near the end of session (usually meaning they’ll get to it if they can). A House review of the idea was slated for this week, after press time.
Education Funding
Sovereignty bills rarely go anywhere but in talking points for reelection campaigns.
However, last year high-ranking Republicans took state sovereignty a step beyond rattling a saber. They announced a bold plan to have a serious look at if and how Tennessee could cut ties with the feds and their $1 billion in education funding. If it did, Tennessee would have been the first state in history to decline such funds.
“We as a state can lead the nation once again in telling the federal government that they can keep their money and we’ll just do things the Tennessee way,” House Speaker Rep. Cameron Sexton said at an event in February last year.
He didn’t outline what the “Tennessee way” entailed, though he complained about testing mandates and strings attached to funding. Many said the big federal string Republicans wanted to cut was the one attached to Title IX mandates. Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that get federal money. The Biden administration has promised an update to these that could strengthen protections for LGTBQ students.
Tennessee has passed more anti-LGBTQ laws than any other state, according to the Human Rights Campaign. The week of March 4th alone, 18 such bills were before state lawmakers and targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; made it easier to ban books; and attempted to legalize discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
State Republicans have passed bills to mandate transgender students only play on sports teams that match their gender at birth. They have mandated which bathrooms trans people have to use (a decision struck down by a federal judge). They’ve allowed teachers to go unpunished if they refuse to use pronouns that students identify with. They’ve wanted certain books with LGBTQ themes banned at school. They’ve wanted LGBTQ, especially gender identity, issues banned from discussion in sex-ed classes. This list goes on and on.
However, the precise motive for looking into cutting those federal education dollars was never stated. Some said it was always good to review the relationship between nation and state. In the end, Republicans spent a lot of time and money to research the idea but set it aside. They took the federal money and the strings attached anyway. But taking it so seriously was maybe that “don’t tread on me snake” just shaking its rattle.
“Deep in my Soul”
Separation of powers is a doubled-edge sword. It’s that cartoon drawing of a big fish eating a small fish that is getting eaten by the even bigger fish. It’s a “layer cake” form of federalism.
Call it what you will, but it’s clear locals want to make their own decisions. For Hulsey, the Republican talking about who tends whose garden, the idea runs deep.
“I stood up on that House floor over there a few weeks ago and we raised our hand, and we swore to 7 million people in this state, we swore not that we would rake in all the federal money we could get,” Hulsey told committee members. “We swore that we would always defend the inalienable rights of Tennessee people by defending and upholding the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Tennessee.
“We should not be for sale. I want to tell you that deep in my soul, I have a conviction that is deep-seated. I believe that if state legislatures in this country do not stand up and hold the federal government to obey the Constitution of the United States, we could very easily lose this republic.”
Photo: Representative John Gillespie | Facebook
John Gillespie
John Gillespie, the Republican incumbent in state House District 97, has kept a relatively moderate profile in the two terms he’s served since winning his seat over Democrat Gabby Salinas in 2020, focusing on non-ideological matters like drag-racing bans and deviating from GOP orthodoxy on gun legislation.
But all that may be changing. Gillespie is now following the lead of the House Republican leadership and another Shelby County GOPer, state Senator Brent Taylor, in sponsoring hard-line crime legislation destined to strip away local law-enforcement prerogatives.
A controversy arose last week after a cell phone video was circulated of a conversation in Nashville in which Gillespie appeared to be assuring the visiting parents of the late Tyre Nichols that he would hold up on seeking an immediate vote on his bill to nullify city council restrictions on the kind of preemptive traffic stops that would end in the savage beating death of young Nichols by MPD officers who are now facing trial for murder.
Instead, Gillespie put the bill on the floor for a relatively quick party-line passage.
The incident may loom large in this year’s legislative elections, in which Gillespie will be opposed by businessman Jesse Huseth, a Democrat who has already released a statement deploring Gillespie’s conduct of the matter.
• Tami Sawyer, recent winner of the Democratic nomination for General Sessions Court clerk, is keeping her activist’s hand in, blogging her discontent with both a pending appearance at the University of Memphis by Kyle Rittenhouse, the youth acquitted of killing two people at a Kenosha, Wisconsin, protest event, and Rep. Gillespie’s short-circuiting whatever commitment he may have given on rolling his bill.
• A hat tip to my daughter Julia Baker of TheDaily Memphian for noting that the aforementioned Brent Taylor, notorious for his constant verbal and legislative targeting of local DA Steve Mulroy, is on the same page as Mulroy regarding the need for a new crime lab in Memphis.
• Veteran watchers of presidential State of the Union addresses over the years are used to seeing 9th District Congressman Steve Cohen ready on or near the aisle for banter or conversation as the president — of whatever year or whatever party, for that matter — is either headed to the podium or finishing up afterward and headed out.
Those aisle seats have to be staked out well in advance, and Cohen, using staffers early on to help hold down a place, is something of a master of the art.
Sometimes he shares local artifacts with the passing chief executive. In 2008, he was seen on national television handing George W. Bush a University of Memphis booster’s cap to be autographed. Watching at home, then Tiger basketball coach John Calipari saw it all and later got in touch with Cohen, putting in a bid for the cap and pledging to get it into the U of M Sports Hall of Fame. Cohen turned it over, but the cap never made it to its intended destination. Not long afterward, Coach Cal — cap presumably in tow — decamped to the University of Kentucky.
Always Cohen manages to have something to say. Last Thursday night, he caught Biden going in and took the time to encourage the president to pitch his remarks to the Democratic side of the assembled audience of lawmakers and to give the Republicans hell. Presumably Biden already had that strategy in mind. In any case, that’s what happened.
Rodney and RowVaughn Wells, parents of the late Tyre Nichols, at a Monday press conference speaking out against a bill to overrule a local government measure to limit traffic stops of the type that resulted in Nichols' death. (Photo: John Partipilo, Tennessee Lookout)
Promises, promises. This wouldn’t be the first time they’re broken.
Rep. John Gillespie (R-Bartlett) swore on the House floor Thursday he didn’t tell the family of slain motorist Tyre Nichols’ he would postpone a policing bill they oppose until next week when they could return to the Capitol. That claim brought an accusation from Rep. Justin J. Pearson (D-Memphis) that Gillespie lied to the family (and a subsequent rebuke that amounted to nothing).
Nichols’ parents, Rodney and RowVaughn Wells, also sent out a statement Thursday urging Senators to vote against the bill when it reaches the upper chamber and reiterated what Pearson said, that Gillespie told them not to visit Nashville because he didn’t plan to bring the bill to the floor.
The Wellses visited the legislature Monday lobbying against Gillespie’s bill, which would turn back a Memphis City Council ordinance designed to prevent police officers from making “pretextual” stops such as pulling over motorists for a bad tail light. The Wellses believe their son, Tyre, would be alive if such an ordinance had been in place in January 2023 when police stopped him and beat him (the incident is on video). He later died.
Gillespie responded by postponing the bill until Thursday and attaching an amendment — which is usually a no-no on the floor — making the bill apply only to “pretextual” stops. In other words, police would still make them in Memphis and statewide.
Several Memphis Democrats questioned whether he told the Wellses he would delay the bill until they could return to the Capitol, which is more than three hours from Memphis.
Rodney and RowVaughn Wells, parents of the late Tyre Nichols, at a Monday press conference speaking out against a bill to overrule a local government measure to limit traffic stops of the type that resulted in Nichols’ death. (Photo: John Partipilo, Tennessee Lookout)“They were told it would be presented next Thursday. John lied to them,” said Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) of Rep. John Gillespie. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)Rep. Gloria Johnson hugs RowVaughn Wells, mother of the late Tyre Nichols. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Gillespie contended his community is “begging” for safer streets and refused to give in, saying the bill needed to pass immediately to cut Memphis crime.
Afterward, he said he texted Mr. Wells during Thursday’s session to let him know he was moving forward with the bill and received no response.
“I feel horrible that they feel this way. But I told them this bill was on the calendar today and that my intention was adding an amendment if I was allowed,” Gillespie said.
Regardless of who said what and when, Gillespie could have put it off again. Democrats practically begged him for a delay.
But the second-termer who succeeded the late Rep. Jim Coley wouldn’t budge — buoyed by supermajority Republicans. And two efforts by Towns to force postponement failed.
Eventually, the House voted along party lines to adopt Gillespie’s bill, bringing yet more criticism from Pearson.
“They were told it would be presented next Thursday. John lied to them,” Pearson told the Lookout later, basically the same thing he said on the floor.
The Wellses issued a statement later Thursday saying the legislation is a “dangerous step back in the fight for accountability, transparency and justice within law enforcement.” They consider the Memphis ordinances a “part of Tyre’s legacy,” intended to build trust between law enforcement and residents and prevent tragic deaths.
The Senate is likely to follow the House on this issue, even though Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) isn’t enthusiastic about several other constitutionally questionable measures emanating from the lower chamber.
The real question, however, is whether Memphis police will follow the legislature’s orders if the bill becomes law or stick with the Memphis City Council directive to limit “pretextual” stops, those in which officers pull over vehicles to make a “speculative” investigation unconnected to the reason for the stop, and not for enforcing traffic laws.
Some folks call it stereotyping or “driving while Black,” and the U.S. Department of Justice saw enough problems with Memphis policing policy to investigate last year.
But the city council, worn out with traffic stops turning into killings, took things into their own hands and prohibited “pretextual” policing.
It sounds like something the police department should have done years ago. But in the majority minority city on the banks of the Mississippi, change comes slowly — if at all.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.
A new bill could potentially undo policies made by the Memphis City Council in the aftermath of Tyre Nichols’ death.
Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) and Rep. John Gillespie (R-Memphis) proposed a bill that would void the Driving Equality Act in Honor of Tyre Nichols, which prohibits officers from pulling drivers over for minor violations such as broken tail lights. It would also nullify the Data Transparency Act, which requires officers to collect traffic data and that it be published monthly. The bill would also make it legal to use unmarked cars for traffic stops.
Under SB 2572/HB 1931, the Driving Equality Act would be ineffective as the bill prohibits any legislation that would not allow law enforcement to act in their fullest capacity.
“As introduced, prohibits a local governmental entity or official from adopting or enacting an ordinance or policy that prohibits or limits the ability of a law enforcement agency to take all necessary steps that are lawful under state and federal law to fulfill the law enforcement agency’s duties to prevent and detect crime and apprehend criminal offenders,” the bill reads. “States that an ordinance or policy that is adopted in violation of the prohibition is null and void.”
Nichols’ family is encouraging lawmakers to vote no to bill, calling it a “devastating step backwards.”
“The legislation would remove critical reforms the Memphis community fought for on behalf of my son Tyre,” RowVaughn Wells, Nichols’ mother, said in a statement. “Our communities deserve law enforcement that is held to the highest standard of integrity and accountability to begin to restore trust.”
The bill has also been openly criticized by advocacy groups such as Decarcerate Memphis, who published “The People’s Report 2024: Driving While BIPOC” this week. The report found that in the months after Nichols’ death, traffic stops increased by nearly 25 percent, even though they found that “traffic stops don’t reduce or prevent crimes.” The report also showed that these stops disproportionately affect Black residents.
“While the sponsors are spreading falsehoods, the truth is Senate Bill 2572/House Bill 1931 seeks to strip local governments and law enforcement agencies of their autonomy to implement tailored public safety solutions that prioritize community safety,” the group said in a statement. “By imposing blanket restrictions on police accountability measures, this bill jeopardizes the discretion of local authorities and diverts resources away from addressing serious crimes and road safety.”
Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas, who played a vital role in the passage of the Driving Equality Ordinance said the current laws passed in the aftermath of Nichols’ death are integral in preventing “another violent death like Tyre Nichols.”
“The narrative and dishonesty being pushed by state legislators is not only wrong but removes the purpose behind the legislation which was to save Black lives, like Tyre Nichols,” Easter-Thomas said in a statement.
Lawmakers in the House Local Government and Senate State and Local Government committees will vote on the bill on Tuesday, February 27th.
New data shows that not only does traffic enforcement in Memphis seem to be ineffective in promoting a safer city, but Black residents receive four times as many traffic tickets as white residents.
Decarcerate Memphis, an organization devoted to solving systemic policing problems, published “The People’s Report 2024: Driving While BIPOC” on Monday, which includes data collected from 2017 to August 2023. The group says their findings conclude that traffic stops increased by a quarter following the death of Tyre Nichols.
“This year’s report shows racial disparities continue — 81 percent of citations are issued to people of color in Memphis, who also receive 90 percent of tickets with two or more citations per ticket,” the group says. “Furthermore, the report finds no relationship between traffic stops and reported crimes, while citations for non-moving violations are associated with an increase in traffic fatalities.”
In the aftermath of the death of Tyre Nichols, Memphis City Council passed a number of driving ordinances such as the Driving Equality Act in Honor of Tyre Nichols, which prohibits officers from pulling drivers over for minor violations such as broken tail lights. However, Decarcerate Memphis’ report says that the Memphis Police Department (MPD) issued more citations.
“Despite the ineffectiveness of non-moving violations on crime or road safety, MPD has significantly emphasized non-moving citations since 2020,” the report says. “After all traffic enforcement cratered in March 2020, MPD officers brought non-moving violations roaring back to pre-pandemic levels within months. Moving violations, meanwhile, are still in lockdown.”
A majority of MPD’s traffic citations (60-64 percent) since 2020 were the result of non-moving violations, the report says. The organization says this is a “weak strategy” and adds that court records proved that traffic enforcement does not help resolve serious crimes.
After pulling a random sample of 1,432 court cases in 2023, the group found that 150 of the cases were pretextual traffic stops with “minor infractions.” The data also concluded that 91 of these cases (61 percent) didn’t result in felony charges.
Discrimination was another key finding in the report, as Black people make up about 64 percent of Memphis’ population and were found to receive a majority of traffic tickets (74 percent.) This further proved the assertion that non-moving traffic violations are not only ineffective in public safety measures, but disproportionately affect people of color.
“Black residents make up 81 percent of defendants in criminal court — among pretextual traffic stop defendants, 91 percent are Black,” the report reads. “Counterintuitively, white defendants are more likely than Black defendants to be convicted of petty charges. This likely reflects a relative absence of summoning white Memphians to court for charges that aren’t worth pursuing.”
Decarcerate Memphis added that their data suggests racial disparities can be “partially explained” by the types of traffic enforcement such as the Organized Crime Unit and the now disbanded SCORPION unit. They say these officers “spend less time on safety-related citations than conventional units.”
To illustrate this, the group compared citations from the “top ticketers of uniform patrol and specialized unit.” The findings showed that 87 percent of the specialized unit officer’s citations were for non-moving violations, while the uniform patrol officer reported 22 percent. While specialized unit officers’ main goal is to “take guns and drugs off the streets,” the organization says they rarely achieve their goal by pulling over and searching “suspicious” cars.
“The burden of the fruitless detentions, searches, and petty charges falls squarely on poor people and people of color,” the report says. “This uniform patrol officer issued 73 percent of their tickets to Black drivers — still disproportionate by population, roughly in line with the overall racial disparity for MPD. “
The report concludes with a number of recommendations proposed by the group, heavily emphasizing traffic enforcement laws. They also urge the leadership of MPD to not only comply with these laws, but to provide timely updates to measure the success of their implementation.
Other suggestions include the end of specialized units as well as data transparency from these units. The group also encourages the deprioritization of non-moving violations.
“Memphis and Shelby County have, in some respects, truly become more threatening in recent years: traffic fatalities have risen, especially since 2020; fewer people are able to legally drive; and people of color face more discrimination on the road and in court. These developments occurred, not in spite of law enforcement efforts, but because of the ineffective and harmful approaches that law enforcement favors.”
Candlelight vigils on Sunday will commemorate the one-year anniversary of the killing of Trye Nichols by Memphis Police Department (MPD) officers.
A vigil will be held in Memphis on January 7 at 7 p.m. at the intersection of Castlegate Lane and Ross Road. Another vigil will take place in Nichols’ hometown of Sacramento, California at the Tyre Nichols Skate Park at 5 p.m. CST.
Credit: Google Maps
“During the vigils attendees will come together to reflect on Nichols’ life, share memories and stand united in demanding accountability and justice,” reads a statement from attorney Ben Crump’s office. “Candles will be lit in his honor, and as a symbol of hope and remembrance.”
Crump and Antonio Romanucci, attorneys for the Nichols family, also released a letter ahead of the anniversary of Nichols’ death.
“Our legal team is fiercely committed to fighting for justice for Tyre and vigorously restate our assertions that the Scorpion Unit officers involved acted at the direction of [an MPD] policy that violated the civil rights of innocent civilians and caused needless pain to many,” reads the letter.
The anniversary of Nichols’ death coincides with the release of information by former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, where he explained that he “actively avoided signing and enforcing the Driving Equality Act in honor of Tyre Nichols that the Memphis City Council passed in Spring 2023.” The law would have required Memphis police officers to skip traffic stops for offenses like temporary tags, damaged bumpers, or lapsed car registration.
Both Crump and Romanucci said that they are “deeply disturbed” by this revelation and that this would have directed “meaningful reform in how Memphis Police should conduct and report traffic stops.” They have also vowed to hold Mayor Paul Young accountable for holding up plans to enact this reform.
“These types of commonsense changes to police policies and practices are essential to establishing trust between communities and police,” said the attorneys in a statement. “Had changes to law enforcement policies been enacted in 2020, we strongly believe Tyre Nichols would be alive today.”
