For Immediate Release
Monday, April 26, 2004

The new law, which took effect upon being signed, is named in memory of Robbie Nottingham who was killed on-campus at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) last year. A campus police investigation was unable to conclusively determine what led to his death.

Nottingham's parents, Jim and Mary, who worked with the bill's sponsors Rep. Nathan Vaughn (D-Kingsport) and Sen. Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville) along with the advocacy organization Security On Campus to develop the legislation, thanked the Governor for signing the bill, and those who supported it.

"Mary and I are very happy that 'Robbie's Law' is now law in Tennessee," said Jim Nottingham. "We hope that, in some way, this will help to make college campuses across the state safer places, and in other states in the future."

"Robbie belonged to the ROTC and in doing so would have served and protected our country, if not for his tragic death," added Nottingham. "Maybe with this legislation his goal of protecting others can still be accomplished."

Robbie's parents were also thanked by legislators for championing this important issue. "During passage of the bill, the Nottinghams worked tirelessly in an effort to ensure that no other parent should ever have to go through what they did," said Sen. Burchett.

"This law is designed to provide complete and thorough investigations on our college and university campuses whenever a serious crime is committed," Burchett continued. "This puts a much better statute on the books in order to provide a safer and more secure environment for college students and campus employees."

"This first of its kind law in the nation continues Tennessee's long history of leadership in campus safety," said Representative Jamie Hagood (R-Knoxville), a co-sponsor of the bill. "Parents need to know when they send their children away to school we will do everything we can to protect them. This includes ensuring that serious crimes receive the same type of criminal investigation they would if they happened in the larger off campus community."