Lee announced in 2021 that he was fast-tracking clemency petitions for inmates serving mandatory minimums that had since been repealed. Earlier this year, he scrapped the program with applications still pending.
DARE to Say No details the history of an anti-drug campaign that left an indelible mark on America.
A 2018 Reason investigation showed that the zones covered wide swaths of cities and turned minor drug crimes into prison sentences that rivaled those for murder or rape.
Following a 2017 Reason investigation, Tennessee reformed its harsh drug-free school zone laws. But hundreds were left in prison.
Inmates serving mandatory minimum sentences have been left behind.
The harsh laws covered large swaths of Tennessee's cities in enhanced sentencing zones and locked away minor drug offenders for years.
Too often, minor drug crimes turn into mandatory minimum offenses with lengthy sentences despite the fact these types of cases rarely involve drug dealing to minors.
The zones cover vast swaths of Tennessee's cities—and turn minor drug crimes into sentences usually reserved for rape and murder.
Under Tennessee's harsh drug-free school zone laws, Bryant received a 17-year sentence for a first-time drug offense.
"A toxic combination of harsh mandatory minimum sentencing, race, poverty and fatally arbitrary enforcement."
A Reason investigation found the zones covered wide swaths of cities and buried first-time offenders under huge sentences.
In Tennessee and around the country, "drug-free school zones" are little more than excuses for harsher drug sentencing.
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