Amendment Three on ballot would expand crime victims’ rights with Marsy’s Law

What This Story Is About

• Voters filling out ballots this election will see Amendment Three, known as Marsy’s Law, which would add rights for victims of crime during court cases.

Why It Matters

• Amanda and Michael Copeland are the parents of Savannah Copeland, who was stabbed to death in Powell two years ago. Malakiah Harris has been charged with first-degree murder in the case.

What Happens Next

• The Copeland family is pushing for Marsy’s Law so that every family of a crime victim knows what is happening in their case.

For Context

• The decision does not fall on politicians in Nashville, but on voters at the polls. When filling out a ballot, voters who want Marsy’s Law added to the state’s constitution will fill in yes.

Catch Up

• Teen accused in Powell girl’s stabbing death faces Knox County grand jury indictment

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Voters filling out ballots this election will see Amendment Three, known as Marsy’s Law, which would add rights for victims of crime during court cases.

Amanda and Michael Copeland are the parents of Savannah Copeland, who was stabbed to death in Powell two years ago. Malakiah Harris has been charged with first-degree murder in the case.

As Harris’ court proceedings continue, the Copeland family wants to be fully aware of everything happening in the case.

“In our case, we were very fortunate that he’s been in custody the whole time. But had he been let out, he lives in our community, very close by, and we would inevitably run into him,” Amanda Copeland, Savannah’s mom, said.

“It’s long. It’s complicated and confusing. And they need to know their rights and they need to be able to ask for those to be enforced,” Copeland said.

The Copeland family is pushing for Marsy’s Law so that every family of a crime victim knows what is happening in a case, not just their own.

Marsy’s Law could change the state’s constitution by adding more rights for victims’ families. The current constitution outlines eight rights. The law could make it 13 in total.

The ACLU of Tennessee says there is no need to expand the rights this far.

“The State Constitution already protects victim’s rights and expanding them in this way basically would threaten Constitutional due process,” Roshan Neil, policy director for the ACLU of Tennessee, said.

Neil said this could hinder the presumption of innocent until proven guilty in the state. Neil added there have been cases of people being charged with crimes they didn’t commit.

“When you’re threatened with your liberty being taken away by the government, it is important to understand that that is something that could happen to anyone. Plenty of people have been accused of crimes they did not commit and plenty of people have been proven innocent of those crimes,” Neil said.

The decision does not fall on politicians in Nashville, but on voters at the polls. When filling out a ballot, voters who want Marsy’s Law added to the state’s constitution will fill in yes. Voters who want the constitution to stay unchanged will pick no.