KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — There's not a day that goes by that Jesse Kennedy doesn't think of his daughter, Gabby Kennedy.
Gabby's life was cut short at just 17 years old in 2020. Gabby and her mother, Kristina, were murdered by Kristina's estranged husband Michael Robinson.
A few days before the murder took place, Robinson was indicted on child abuse charges in Sullivan County, but he was living in Russell County. The warrant was never served. Now there are questions about the communication between agencies.
"So, the big part of this — try to bridge that gap so there's not that delay," said Kennedy.
For the past few years, Senator Jon Lundberg (R - Bristol) has been pushing "The Gabby Act" through the Tennessee legislature.
"It’s important for us on endangerment issues with children. Because we also have eight states that border Tennessee. We need to work with the folks in Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia, and so on, and make certain that we’re reporting that and having good communications," said Lundberg.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee officially signed SB 2514 into law on April 4, 2024. It makes a small change to a law requiring District Attorneys General to designate one Assistant District Attorney General as the lead prosecutor in cases involving crimes committed against children, requiring the law be known as "The Gabby Act."
It also requires the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to provide annual training to assistant district attorneys designated as lead prosecutors in crimes committed against children.
"Every DA has to appoint a specific ADA who is charged with overall communicating everything about child endangerment laws and issues, and they’ve got to hold training sessions with their entire staff," said Lundberg. "They’re also charged with reaching out to other DAs, in other counties and close by, and they’ve got to do that statewide every year. Really important on the communication of these domestic abuse cases where we have children that are endangered, and that’s what happened with Gabby."
After Lundberg's bill passed, Chapter 237 of the Public Acts of 2023 will be known as "The Gabby Act." That section of the law requires ADAs to be assigned as lead prosecutors in cases involving crimes against children. SB 2514 passed by all "aye" votes in the House and Senate.
"We will not ever be able to measure it, but we know it’s going to help, we know that there’s resolve out there. And the resolve out there is simply because of this act passing," said Kennedy.
