MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Tennessee Senate voted 27-5 Wednesday to accept an ethics committee report that would remove Sen. Katrina Robinson of Memphis from her office.
The Associated Press reports it is the body’s first time to expel a member since at least the Civil War.
Sen. Ferrell Haile read the complaint to the Republican-controlled Senate Wednesday morning.
Robinson, standing on the Senate floor, called the vote a “procedural lynching,” prompting cries for order in the chamber.
“The decision has been made, and I want the people of Tennessee to know, this is a show. It’s not a fair process. It’s not been a fair process throughout,” she said.
Robinson brought up other members of the senate facing legal scrutiny while remaining in office and that a petition signed by thousands of people, supporting her to remain in office, was not considered.
“For me, the only way to maintain my dignity is to stand here and stand up for myself and to stand up for anybody else who may have to go through this,” she said.
In a memo from the Shelby County Commission Democratic Caucus, they said they were not prepared to appoint a new state senator. They pointed to the fact that Senator Robinson’s court case has not been completed, and she is entitled to due process in this matter.
That raises the possibility that her district could have no representation.
“How does that enhance the integrity of this body?” she asked.
Robinson, a Democrat, was convicted last year of wire fraud related to federal money intended for her nursing school that was allegedly used for personal use. Although she was originally indicted on 20 counts involving $600,000, she was only convicted on four of those counts, involving $3,400 in wedding expenses in 2016.
Two of those charges have since been dismissed by a judge. Robinson’s lawyer said they are still seeking appeal for the remaining charges.
Robinson has this message for her constituents:
“Thank you for just believing in me to represent you over the time that I have had the opportunity and the privilege to do so, and I just want everybody to be encouraged through this process, to fight when things aren’t right,” she said.
Robinson is set to be federally sentenced on March 3.
