Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Advertisement
    • Contact Us
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Advertise With Us
    • Home
      • COVID-19 Resource Center
        • Dr. Henry Louis Gates’ PSA Radio
      • Featured
    • News
      • State
      • Local
      • National/International News
      • Global
      • Business
        • Commentary
        • Finance
        • Local Business
      • Investigative Stories
        • Affordable Housing
        • DCS Investigation
        • Gentrification
    • Editorial
      • National Politics
      • Local News
      • Local Editorial
      • Political Editorial
      • Editorial Cartoons
      • Cycle of Shame
    • Community
      • History
      • Tennessee
        • Chattanooga
        • Clarksville
        • Knoxville
        • Memphis
      • Public Notices
      • Women
        • Let’s Talk with Ms. June
    • Education
      • College
        • American Baptist College
        • Belmont University
        • Fisk
        • HBCU
        • Meharry
        • MTSU
        • University of Tennessee
        • TSU
        • Vanderbilt
      • Elementary
      • High School
    • Lifestyle
      • Art
      • Auto
      • Tribune Travel
      • Entertainment
        • 5 Questions With
        • Books
        • Events
        • Film Review
        • Local Entertainment
      • Family
      • Food
        • Drinks
      • Health & Wellness
      • Home & Garden
      • Featured Books
    • Religion
      • National Religion
      • Local Religion
      • Obituaries
        • National Obituaries
        • Local Obituaries
      • Faith Commentary
    • Sports
      • MLB
        • Sounds
      • NBA
      • NCAA
      • NFL
        • Predators
        • Titans
      • NHL
      • Other Sports
      • Golf
      • Professional Sports
      • Sports Commentary
      • Metro Sports
    • Media
      • Video
      • Photo Galleries
      • Take 10
      • Trending With The Tribune
    • Classified
    • Obituaries
      • Local Obituaries
      • National Obituaries
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Crime & Justice

    Breaking News: Rutherford County Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott Davenport Announces Retirement Plans

    Article submittedBy Article submittedFebruary 25, 2022No Comments4 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram Pinterest Tumblr Reddit Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    By Scott Broden, Murfreesboro Daily News Journal 

    Juvenile court judge Donna Scott Davenport, one of the last elected leaders still in office after being tied to Rutherford County’s decades-long history of illegally arresting and jailing children, announced Tuesday afternoon she won’t seek re-election later this year.

    Davenport said she will retire after completing her eight-year term by Aug. 31.

    Donna Scott Davenport

    The announcement came one day after Democratic Party lawmakers in the Tennessee General Assembly said they were seeking legislation to oust Davenport.

    Kyle Mothershead, who represented plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit settled in December, said the county illegally arrested and incarcerated children before Davenport came to office in 2000. Still, he responded to Tuesday’s news with condemnation and relief.

    “Good riddance,” Mothershead said. 

    Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, said he learned Tuesday about Davenport’s decision to retire rather than seek re-election.

    “Rutherford County expresses thanks to her for her service over the years and wishes her luck in her retirement,” Ketron said. 

    Davenport and the county’s juvenile detention center has faced national criticism for policies that led to multiple lawsuits and the illegal incarcerations of thousands of children on misdemeanor or made-up charges.

    The policies led to children being handcuffed at school and jailed. Meanwhile, a filter system policy was created by Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center Director Lynn Duke, who accepted her appointed position from Davenport. 

    The public learned of these polices after a 2016 fight in the neighborhood near Hobgood Elementary led to the arrests of 10 children. The fight was recorded on video and shared on social media. While Davenport dismissed charges involving the Hobgood arrests, she was still criticized for her role in creating a culture of illegal arrests and incarcerations. 

    “Yes, she is resigning,” said Jimmie Garland, vice president of the Tennessee conference of the NAACP. “But my question: Is she the only one that needs to resign, or the only one legislators need to run out of office? Because I’m quite sure there’s more than one person… caught up in that. 

    “I think they need to continue their research, continue their investigation, just to make sure everybody in that loop is actually out of a job.”

    ‘I don’t think she’d be re-elected anyway because all the stuff she did’

    Among those incarcerated was Nicole Alexander’s 10-year-old son, who was arrested at home, accused of encouraging the fight.

    Yet he was not present for the fight in question, according to a $15 million lawsuit filed last year against Davenport.

    “I don’t think she’d be re-elected anyway because all the stuff she did,” Alexander said Tuesday, who contends the judge should face criminal charges.  

    Related: Lawmakers push to remove Rutherford County juvenile judge over jailing of children

    Alexander’s cousin, Jackie Brinkley, also watched her twins, a boy and a girl, arrested at home. Her son spent the weekend at the juvenile detention center.

    Advertisement

    Brinkley said she’s glad the judge decided to retire and wished authorities dealt with her sooner.

    “They should have removed her from being judge,” Brinkley said. “She’s very rude to the parents. She doesn’t have respect at all for the mothers.”

    A class-action lawsuit was filed in July 2017. 

    “Tennessee law strictly prohibits the pretrial incarceration of children” unless the youth are “being charged with a violent felony, a weapons offense, or a probation violation,” according to the lawsuit. 

    Litigation led to a 2017 court order to stop the illegal incarcerations of children from U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr.

    “The juveniles that are arrested in Rutherford County are being deprived of their procedural due process rights, which is unquestionably irreparable harm.” Crenshaw said in his ruling. 

    The class-action lawsuit settled in December for less than an estimated $6 million. The settlement includes awards to 394 filed claims for illegal incarceration and another 100 claims will be for illegal arrests, Mothershead said. 

    The settlement will pay about $4,800 per illegal incarceration and $1,000 per illegal arrest. The original plaintiffs will get more. 

    The number of plaintiffs with claims represented less than one-third of the estimated 1,450 people believed to be eligible and impacted in recent decades by the arrests and incarcerations.

    Thousands of others were ineligible because of the statute of limitations.

    Illegally jailing children: 5 things to know about Rutherford County’s troubled history of arresting and jailing kids

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Article submitted

    Related Posts

    The rise of Aftyn Behn in Tennessee

    October 16, 2025

    Meharry Medical College’s GREAT Health Study Launches on Vibrent Platform, Marks New Era in Community-Embedded, Genomic Research

    October 15, 2025

    Women We Admire Announces Top 50 Women Leaders of Tennessee for 2025

    October 14, 2025

    Les Gemmes, Inc. Nashville Chapter hosts the Jewels 2025 Meet and Greet

    October 12, 2025

    Riverside Chapel’s 80th Anniversary celebration to highlight historic sanitarium

    October 11, 2025

    The Museum of Christian and Gospel Music Now Open

    October 9, 2025

    Comments are closed.

    Advertisement
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZODr-6rxyI
    Business

    FUNdraising Good Times Nonprofit heroes hidden in plain sight

    October 10, 2025

    Amazon Web Services partners with Nashville Innovation Alliance to address Tennessee’s technology talent demand

    October 5, 2025

    Nashville airport ends minority business program to comply with federal order

    October 2, 2025
    1 2 3 … 389 Next
    Education
    Education

    Meharry appoints leader of Diaspora Human Genomics Institute

    By TN Tribune Staff WriterOctober 16, 2025

    NASHVILLE, TN — Meharry Medical College, one of the nation’s oldest and largest historically Black…

    TSU Homecoming 2025: What you need to know

    October 8, 2025

    Meharry launches study to build world’s largest African ancestry genetics database

    October 7, 2025

    Digital Pioneers Academy Partners with The $50 Study to Launch Groundbreaking Student Cash Transfer Program in Washington, DC

    October 2, 2025
    The Tennessee Tribune
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Store
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact
    © 2025 The Tennessee Tribune - Site Designed by No Regret Media.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Our Spring Sale Has Started

    You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/