19-year-old Ezekiel Kelly, the suspected gunman in the Memphis, Tenn. shooting on Wed. that killed four and injured three, appeared in Shelby County court on Friday.
Kelly has so far been charged with the first-degree murder of Dewayne Tunstall, the first victim in the shooting rampage that prompted a temporary shelter-in-place order and suspension of busses.
This latest shooting - along with other recent tragic events - calls attention to Tennessee's outdated, soft-on-crime policies. Kelly was a previously convicted, known danger to society, and yet the judicial system let him loose. This only affirms the need for Tennessee's "Truth in Sentencing" bill, which will go a long way to addressing a broken justice system.
Politicians are using this tragedy to push their political agenda and call for policy change in what is not only a disrespectful lack of regard for the victims, but also ill-informed rhetoric. The "Truth in Sentencing" bill would have required Kelly to serve 85% of his sentence, which means he still would have been out in time to commit this crime even if it had been in effect.