From the HERE City State Desk
Tennessee voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to replace the crime victims’ rights section of the state constitution with a longer list of protections.
Amendment 3 would delete Article I, Section 35 and substitute new language. Tennessee voters first added that section in 1998, when 88.8% approved a Victims’ Bill of Rights that listed eight rights, including being free from intimidation and being informed of the release or escape of the accused.
The new version would give victims the right to be treated with fairness, to be informed about and take part in the parole process, to be records show protected from harassment, intimidation and abuse, and to be told the minimum sentence an offender will serve and the scheduled release date. It would also require that the safety of victims, their families and the public be considered before a convicted person is released.
The amendment keeps existing rights such as being present at public criminal proceedings, speaking with prosecutors, restitution and a speedy resolution of the case. It states that it does not restrict the powers of prosecutors officials noted or courts and does not create a claim for damages against the state.
The measure is modeled on Marsy’s Law, a national effort named for a woman killed in 1983. Fourteen states had passed a version by 2025. Lawmakers approved the Tennessee proposal in 2023-24 and again in 2025, with the House voting 93-0 in April 2025. A committee called Marsy’s Law for Tennessee is backing it.
Like the other amendments on the ballot, it needs more yes votes than no votes, and more than half of all votes cast for governor.
