Tennessee Democrats rallied this week to the defense of a Memphis prosecutor targeted for removal by state Republican leaders who see the district attorney as soft on crime.
Lawmakers from both parties got involved after Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, a Democrat, floated a sentencing reform plan for cases prosecuted by his office that would mean no prison time for some felons convicted of gun offenses.
The announcement spurred Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, Crossville Republican, to say Mr. Mulroy’s proposal was the latest example of the district attorney “kowtowing to criminals.”
State Sen. Brent Taylor, Shelby County Republican, lambasted the district attorney for trying to “redefine what crime and punishment is in the state.”
Mr. Taylor said he plans a resolution seeking the prosecutor’s ouster when the state Legislature reconvenes later this year.
And the speaker has talked with Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, also a Republican, about taking steps to potentially remove Mr. Mulroy.
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, a Republican, signaled his support for ousting Mr. Mulroy this week by saying the district attorney has been veering into unconstitutional territory.
But Democrats say Republican concerns over the top prosecutor, who was elected in August 2022 and received campaign donations from left-wing billionaire George Soros, are a smokescreen to deflect from their own failures on public safety.
“Republicans run virtually everything in the state of Tennessee,” Rep. John Ray Clemmons, Nashville Democrat and caucus chair for the state’s House Democrats, told The Washington Times. “One thing they have not controlled for less than two years is the District Attorney’s Office in Shelby County, yet they want to place all blame for anything happening in Shelby County at the feet of the district attorney just because he’s a Democrat.”
Mr. Clemmons said neither Mr. Sexton nor Mr. Taylor outlined how Mr. Mulroy violated Tennessee law in a way that would qualify for his ouster.
The conflict over Memphis’ top prosecutor comes as the city has been mired in an 18-month-long crimewave, including a record number of 397 homicides last year.
The police department has recorded 124 homicides so far this year, though it’s unclear how current that information is since local news reports said Memphis documented its 100th homicide in early April.
The animating issue was Mr. Mulroy saying last week that he wanted to address racial disparities in punishments for gun offenses by giving prosecutors options when prosecuting nonviolent offenders.
Blowback from the proposal was immediate, and on Monday — just minutes before Mr. Taylor held a fiery press event directed at the district attorney — Mr. Mulroy announced he was dropping his sentencing reform idea, adding that only a handful of people would have benefitted from the initiative.
“He pulled it because I am on his ass, and he knows that we’re going to take this resolution and he’ll be held accountable for his actions,” Mr. Taylor said during his press conference.
Mr. Mulroy responded to the removal push by calling it “politics, pure and simple.” Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari, whose district is based in Memphis, called it an “unconstitutional attack” that “sets a dangerous precedent.”
Mr. Clemmons, from Nashville, said a prosecutor talking about diversionary programs doesn’t come close to justifying his removal from office.
“If they want to start removing people from office because of what they deem, or what others deemed to be, bad ideas, then God bless every one of them,” the representative said.
Mr. Taylor, whose district is based in Memphis’ eastern suburbs, accused the district attorney of “prosecutorial nullification” and of trying to circumvent the General Assembly by creating separate penalties for gun offenders.
The Shelby County Republican argued that the law doesn’t make a distinction between violent and nonviolent felons who are caught with guns, so creating a two-tiered punishment system was outside the prosecutor’s jurisdiction.
Mr. Taylor didn’t provide any examples Monday of “prosecutorial nullification,” but last year urged for an investigation into Mr. Mulroy over a commuted sentence for a death row inmate.
Earlier this month, he petitioned the attorney general to probe an agreement between the federal Justice Department and the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office to no longer prosecute certain prostitution offenses.
Mr. Taylor on Monday accused the prosecutor of working with “restorative justice schemers” to try and rehabilitate convicts without acknowledging that “there are evil people who just want to commit crimes against other people.”
“If he wants to save souls, I would encourage him to resign, go join the ministry and save souls, but leave prosecution to those who are committed to a safe community and that work to do what they can to try to make people suffer consequences for the crimes they commit,” Mr. Taylor said.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.