Mulroy praises parental accountability, not fines

Alex Coleman
·2 min read

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County District Attorney outlined what’s being done to address the ongoing crime problem that’s plaguing the city and county Wednesday.

He says bonds are being raised, some revoked and prosecutors are trying even more cases.
     
“We are trying cases at a greater rate. We are trying them successfully,” he said. “The word needs to go out to would be criminals out there that if you commit crimes, particularly if they’re violent crimes, particularly if they’re D-11 crimes, you will be held accountable and you will face serious consequences.”

But Mulroy was not totally on board with a bill in the Tennessee General Assembly aims to make parents more accountable when it comes to children and crime.

TN bill would make parents pay for juvenile crime

The Parental Accountability Act, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor, calls for fining parents up to $1,000 when they pick up their child after a second offense.

“A flat requirement of always imposing a thousand dollar fine on families that are already indigent and already having trouble paying their bills can sometimes do more harm than good,” Mulroy said. “So while I believe in the idea of parental accountability, I think it’s important of the judges to have discretion.”

He says one solution is the work being done at Pure Academy, a nonprofit school founded by Melvin Cole.

“It’s not necessarily that kids were bad,” Cole said. “It’s just their environment wasn’t breeding success. … We can give them that love, discipline, that structure and education.”

Former Memphis City Councilman Kemp Conrad praised the Pure Academy program.

“Mr. Cole has the solution for Memphis’ most pressing challenge, and this is it,” he said. “Eighty-three percent of the kids in the program go on to college. The rest are in the military or trade school.”

Mulroy says his office, along with several state and local leaders, continues to push to have a crime lab in Shelby County for rapid DNA testing, cell phone forensics, along with a 24-hour ballistics lab to help solve crimes.

“Getting such information back within a few days from E-Trace, using it identify suspects or persons with knowledge whom we can question, could be a game changer in solving gun crimes, as you know are plaguing Shelby County,” he said.

Mulroy says he hopes state lawmakers will set aside money to help with a new crime lab in Shelby County and to expand the Pure Academy to work with more troubled children in Memphis.

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