Just how bad is life in Tennessee’s prisons? Plus the local news for July 15, 2024.
Former Tennessee prisons director says ‘truth in sentencing’ bill could balloon prison population and make communities less safe
WPLN criminal justice reporter Samantha Max sat down with This is Nashville host Khalil Ekulona to unpack the so-called “truth in sentencing” bill.
Tennessee Makes Final Preparations To Use Its Electric Chair Again
Tennessee will execute its sixth death row inmate Thursday night since a hiatus ended in 2018. The courts and Gov. Bill Lee have denied all of Lee Hall’s last-minute appeals thus far. Now, Hall faces the electric chair. He’s the state’s fourth death row inmate to choose electrocution over lethal injection in the past year.
After Tennessee Prisons Official Was Killed, Suspected Inmate Is At Large
A senior Tennessee prisons employee has been killed, and an inmate on the loose is the suspect. Curtis Ray Watson escaped from the West Tennessee State Penitentiary on Wednesday and is still at large.
Cost Of Health Care In Tennessee Prisons Is About To Spike
Listen The care of prisoners’ health across the state will remain in the hands of the embattled current provider — Centurion of Tennessee. But as of next July, it’s going to get considerably more expensive.
More Inmates, Fewer Releases Busting Prison Budget
Inmates are entering Tennessee prisons faster than they’re being released, and the Correction Department says the unforeseen trend is busting the agency’s budget. The state prison system has asked for an extra $50 million to make it through this year.
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