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Former Guard And Warden To Lead Tennessee Prison System

Tony Parker Credit: State of Tennessee
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Gov. Bill Haslam is promoting a former correctional officer and warden to be the head of the state’s prison system.

Tony Parker has been named the next commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction. Over his 33 years in the state’s prisons, Parker rose from a guard to serving most recently as an assistant commissioner.

Parker starts in the department’s top job next week.

He replaces Derrick Schofield, who is joining a private prison management company. Schofield led the department for more than five years. He’s come under heavy criticism in recent months, though — over low morale, inmate assaults and an outbreak of hepatitis C.

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Chas Sisk, Senior Editor

Chas joined WPLN in 2015 and became an editor in 2018. Previously, he covered state politics for Nashville Public Radio and The Tennessean, and he’s also reported on communities, politics and business for a variety of publications in Massachusetts, New York and Washington, D.C. Chas grew up in South Carolina and attended Columbia University, where he studied economics and journalism.

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