Senator Marsha Blackburn warned Memphis District Attorney Steve Mulroy on Tuesday not to impede the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on crime after data suggest his office released dozens of violent criminals in December 2025.
“President Trump and his administration are working around the clock to make Memphis the safest city in America,” the Tennessee Republican wrote in a letter obtained by The Daily Wire, cosigned by Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor. “It is your obligation as Shelby County’s District Attorney to enforce Tennessee’s criminal code and hold violent criminals accountable — not to allow them to be released back onto the streets to reoffend.”
Data from the Memphis Crime Beat, a citizen-run website that tracks crime in the city, showed that only 84 defendants received prison time for the 514 “resolved” cases in December 2025. At the same time, Mulroy admitted to Blackburn in a March 6 letter obtained by The Daily Wire that 166 of the cases resolved in December were classified as violent offenses.
The rebuke comes amid a back-and-forth between Blackburn and Mulroy over the Democrats’ “soft-on-crime” policies. Mulroy has long faced pressure from state and local Republican officials over his handling of crime. In recent years, Memphis has been ranked as one of the most crime-ridden cities in the country, with consistently high murder rates. The Trump administration has surged law enforcement to the city to assist in a federal operation to reduce crime in Memphis.
The data team from Memphis Crime Beat found that in December 2025, there were 514 total cases resolved, including 144 cases where there was no prosecution. Of the other 370, 178 received a combination of suspended sentence and probation or probation, 84 received prison time, 63 received diversion, and 45 were released with time served, Memphis Crime Beat Executive Director Leslie Taylor noted in an analysis of the data.
“It would logically follow that, if there were only 84 defendants who received prison time in December 2025, but there were 166 violent cases in that same month, there appear to be dozens of violent criminal defendants — based on your own admission — that received no jail time in December 2025,” Blackburn and Taylor wrote.
Mulroy told Blackburn on March 6 that 166 of the 514 cases were “designated as ‘violent’ in our system.” He added that there were a total of 187 “serious” cases closed counting Class A, B, and C felonies. In Tennessee, a Class A felony has a prison range of 15 to 60 years, while a Class C felony has a range of three to 15 years.
“Most of the cases the letter lists as receiving probation or diversion are either nonviolent cases, cases involving defendants without significant criminal histories, cases where defendants have already spent time (often significant time) in jail, or cases in which judges granted such relief without our agreement,” Mulroy added.
Blackburn’s letter asked for more information on how many of the 166 violent defendants were released onto the streets and how many of the violent or serious felony cases got diversion or probation.
“We have made significant progress in making Memphis the safest city in the United States, and we will not allow you to stall the tremendous progress that the city of Memphis has made,” Blackburn said.
Mulroy has denied Blackburn’s claims that he is a George Soros-backed DA, despite the evidence that Soros contributed to a political action committee that backed his campaign. Senator Taylor, a Republican from Memphis, has attempted to remove Mulroy from office through the legislature.
Leslie Taylor, who said that crime data is often difficult to obtain, told The Daily Wire that what happens after someone is arrested is at least as important as the initial detainment
“The most recent data from the Shelby County Jail shows that 80% of those booked into jail have been there before, and 49% have been in jail 6 or more times,” she said. “We are concerned that if criminals aren’t effectively prosecuted, we will be back to square one when federal resources are withdrawn.”
