By Michael Whitlock, Executive Vice President – Bail Division
Article I, Section 15 of the Tennessee Constitution states:
“That all prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offenses, when the proof is evident and the presumption great.”
This language has been part of Tennessee law since 1870, when the state adopted its third and current constitution. It has served the people of Tennessee for more than 150 years — but that stability could end in 2026.
The Tennessee Legislature has passed SJR0025, a resolution proposing to amend Article I, Section 15 to expand the categories of offenses for which bail may be denied.
The amendment will be placed before voters in the November 3, 2026, general election. If approved, individuals charged with violent offenses — including second degree murder, aggravated rape, grave torture, and similar crimes — could be denied bail when “the proof is evident or the presumption great.”
The amendment goes further, allowing judges to deny bail for any offense where a conviction would require the defendant to serve at least 85% of their sentence. Judges would be required to document their reasons for granting or denying bail in each case.
Tennessee’s move mirrors similar efforts in other states to expand preventive detention. So far, most of these attempts have failed.
The current push for broader detention powers stems from years of “zero bail” policies, selective enforcement, and chronic delays in prosecuting cases — conditions that have fueled a surge in repeat offenses by defendants awaiting trial.
In 2026, Tennessee voters will face a pivotal question: whether detaining thousands of individuals before conviction is the right answer to rising crime and court backlogs. Expediting prosecutions could have been an alternative path, but that solution was notably absent from the legislative agenda.