The Gibson County sheriff has been indicted on 22 charges for improperly profiting off inmate labor.
Sheriff Paul Thomas was indicted on charges of theft, forgery, computer crimes and official misconduct.
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Tennessee State Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) said he expects his amendment that would ban state funds from being used to pay for gender hormone therapy for prisoners incarcerated in the Tennessee Department of Correction to pass “overwhelmingly.”
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Tennessee State Senator Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) filed SB 2757 on Thursday, called the Restoration of Dignity for the Elderly Act, which would allow criminals who have served more than half of their sentence and are at least 60 to serve the remainder of their sentence under house arrest.
A summary for SB 2757 would require the Tennessee Department of Correction “to create a five-year pilot program for the release” of inmates who are defined as elderly, which the bill defines as over the age of 60, and have “served a minimum of 65 percent of the sentence imposed,” to be released under house arrest.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) participated in Wednesday’s official groundbreaking for the Multi-Agency Law Enforcement Training Academy (MALETA) in Nashville’s Cockrill Bend.
The $415 million site campus will have housing and dining facilities for cadets and in-service employees, local and state law enforcement training facilities, and a new administrative headquarters building for the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security and the Tennessee Department of Correction.
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The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) announced a new security protocol that applies to everyone who enters TDOC prisons in 2023.
Beginning this month, all people who enter a TDOC prison will be required to be screened by a full body scanner. The scanners are meant to “act as deterrents for individuals considering bringing contraband into a facility,” TDOC explained in a recent press release.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Wednesday announced a pay raise for new Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) officers across the state.
Specifically, new correctional officers will receive a 37 percent salary increase, bringing the position’s starting salary to $44,500 per year. Current security staff members will also see a bump in salary, gaining a minimum 15 percent pay increase.
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As of this week, any records of former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s criminal behavior during her time in office are officially expunged from the record. This after she spent nearly $175,000 in taxpayer money on an extra-marital tryst.
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A fifth former correctional officer pleaded guilty this week to using unlawful force on an inmate and then conspiring to cover it up while working as an officer for the Tennessee Department of Correction.
Jonathan York, 33, faces up to 10 years in prison for the civil rights offense of using unlawful force and up to five years for the conspiracy offense.
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Tennessee Comptrollers released an audit Friday that, among other things, blasted the Tennessee Department of Correction for poor management of prisons and not reporting things they were supposed to report.
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