This story has been updated.

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy is ditching plans for a controversial new diversion program that would have allowed some convicted felons charged with firearm possession to avoid prison time. 

But state Sen. Brent Taylor is still pushing for his ouster. Taylor announced Monday, June 17, he would be filing an ouster resolution in November, following the general election.

State Republican leadership wants to remove Mulroy from office

Taylor also suggested during a Monday press conference detailing the move that it may not be the only petition he files.

Taylor suggested he may file a petition against a local judge, alluding to his disapproval of bail practices by the judge who he did not name. 

“These judges, one in particular I can think of, continue to flaunt state law and let people out on their own recognizance when Rep. Gillespie and I worked hard to change the bail laws,” he said.

Taylor has been a frequent critic of Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court Division 7 Judge Bill Anderson over his views on setting bail in Shelby County and his leadership over the county’s judicial commissioners.

Taylor said Monday the program was “the straw that broke the camel’s back” on trying to remove Mulroy from office. But he also said that the coming resolution would detail more cases where Mulroy has allegedly failed to fulfill his official duties. 

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Taylor struggled to name other instances where Mulroy has been derelict, instead referring reporters to his feeds on X and Facebook for examples he has previously cited.

Taylor’s press conference Monday was held at the Memphis Police Association headquarters in the Memphis Medical District.

MPA leadership did not cite direct support for the ouster move but cited support for Taylor and initiatives aimed at increasing community safety.

“Whatever moves Nashville wants to take to keep criminals in jail, we’re willing to do that,” said MPA President Matt Cunningham.

Taylor also claimed Monday that others in Memphis, including members of the local business community, are supportive of Mulroy’s removal.

Speaking to a recent visit to the city by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, Taylor said that “80%” of the meetings the two had with local leaders and residents came with support for Mulroy’s ouster.

Other state leaders are not backing the move, however.

DA’s office to implement diversion program for felons charged with weapons offenses

In statements after Monday’s press conference, Frederick Agee, district attorney for Tennessee’s 28th Judicial District, and state Sen. Raumesh Akbari balked at the attempt to overturn the will of voters who elected Mulroy. 

“The right of free people to elect its leaders is what this Country was founded on. DAs have discretion to prosecute or not prosecute, and exercise it all the time,” Agee said. “DAs are separate and independent from legislators, so our decisions are not political, and have to use our limited resources to protect the community. General Mulroy has used his discretion to focus on violent crime. I’m confident General Mulroy and his top-notch assistants are doing what needs to be done to remove violent offenders from Shelby County.”

Akbari said Mulroy “inherited a tough situation and has been working hard to correct it.”

“Violent crime in Memphis didn’t begin with his term, and it’s going to take all of us working together to find solutions. We should be talking about how to help him, not creating harmful distractions,” she said. “The voters of Shelby County made their choice; the Legislature should respect it.”

Mulroy, who also released a statement, called the move “politics, pure and simple.”

Mulroy talks bail, gun reform and city subpoena

Mulroy said the office prosecutes more than 3,000 violent cases a year, including more than 1,000 cases of felons charged with weapon possession. 

“Rather than disrespecting Shelby County voters by trying to overturn a local election, Sen. Taylor should focus on getting state funding for a local crime lab, raising penalties on ‘Glock switches’ and letting Shelby County pass sensible gun regulations to stop the flood of guns threatening our safety. I’ll meet with any legislator to hear their concerns; meanwhile, we’ll continue to do the actual work,” he said. “Public safety is and always will be my top priority.

Taylor was opposed to Mulroy’s attempted diversion program because he claimed it was an example of Mulroy deciding not to prosecute a certain category of crimes.

“He is prosecuting crimes based on how he wants the law to be read, not how it’s actually read,” Taylor said.

But those given diversion would have still been prosecuted. They simply would not have been required to serve their sentences upon completion of certain conditions, like drug rehab, for example. If they didn’t complete those requirements, their cases would have been prosecuted as normal.

Steve Mulroy says city subpoena was ‘mix-up’

Mulroy characterized the program Friday as a “supervised offender program” rather than a diversion program.

Despite the program now being pulled, Taylor said he is still moving forward because the program was simply a “manifestation of how he conducts that office.”

“There are plenty of examples (of alleged misconduct) that we’ve talked about over my two years in office,” Taylor said.