Tennessee voters approved Amendment 3 on Nov. 3, making Tennessee the 15th state where voters approved adding Marsy’s Law to the state constitution. As of Nov. 6, the vote was 76.0% ‘yes’ and 24.0% ‘no’.
Amendments referred to as Marsy's Law are a type of crime victims' bill of rights amendment that closely model an example constitutional amendment released by the organization Marsy's Law for All. The model constitutional amendment released by Marsy's Law for All includes the following key provisions:
- The right to be notified about and present at proceedings;
- The right to be heard at proceedings involving release, plea, sentencing, disposition, or parole of the accused;
- The right to have the safety of the victim and victim's family considered when making bail or release decisions;
- The right to be protected from the accused;
- The right to be notified about release or escape of the accused;
- The right to refuse an interview or deposition at the request of the accused;
- The right to receive restitution from the individual who committed the criminal offense.
The model amendment states that the Marsy's Law definition of victim includes both the person directly harmed by a crime and "any spouse, parent, grandparent, child, sibling, grandchild, or guardian, and any person with a relationship to the victim that is substantially similar to a listed relationship."
The effort to institute Marsy's Law across the U.S. has been primarily backed by Henry Nicholas, co-founder of Broadcom Corporation. Henry's sister, Marsalee ("Marsy") Nicholas, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 1983. A week later, Henry and his mother encountered Marsy's ex-boyfriend at a grocery store after he was released on bail; Henry and his mother were unaware of his release. In 2009, Henry founded Marsy's Law for All LLC, the national organization advocating for Marsy's Law. The organization describes its mission in the following way: "Marsy’s Law for All seeks to amend state constitutions that don’t offer protections to crime victims and, eventually, the U.S. Constitution to give victims of crime rights equal to those already afforded to the accused and convicted."
California was the first state to add Marsy's Law to its state constitution when voters approved Proposition 9 in 2008. Proposition 9 passed with 53.8% of the vote and became a model for several subsequent Marsy's Law ballot measures across the United States.
In three states—Pennsylvania, Montana, and Kentucky—voters approved a Marsy's Law amendment, but the amendments were overturned by state courts. Kentucky voters approved Marsy's Law for a second time after it was overturned by the state courts. As a result, though voters approved Marsy's Law amendments 16 times, Marsy's Law is in effect in 13 states.
[Insert Map]
The pattern of approving Marsy’s Law amendments is part of a wider trend of adding crime victims’ rights amendments to state constitutions. Since 1982, a total of 58 constitutional amendments concerning crime victims' rights have been on the ballot in 39 states. Such amendments relate to the legal rights and protections of crime victims. They address a right to restitution, notification, participation in legal proceedings, and victim support services, among other rights guaranteed to victims of crimes.
Of the 58 constitutional amendments:
- 56 would have established or expanded the rights of crime victims; and
- two would have limited the rights of crime victims.
Voters approved all constitutional amendments to establish or expand crime victims’ rights. Voters rejected one amendment, South Carolina Amendment 1, and approved one amendment, South Dakota Constitutional Amendment Y, that limited the rights of crime victims.
Of the 58 amendments, 33 added a crime victims' bill of rights, 16 added Marsy's Law, three added a single right for victims of crimes, and six amendments altered or would have altered preexisting Marsy's Law amendments or crime victims' bill of rights amendments.
Heading into the election, the Tennessee Constitution included a crime victims' rights amendment. In 1998, Tennessee voters approved Amendment 2, also known as the Victims' Bill of Rights. Of the 15 states that have approved Marsy's Law, 10 had previously approved a crime victims' bill of rights.
Additional reading: