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Tennessee Department of Correction

Tennessee prisons install high-tech scanners to try to deter contraband

Tony Gonzalez

January 2, 2023

Tennessee prison barbed wire

Starting in 2023, high-tech screenings will be the new standard at Tennessee’s state prisons, as officials fight to control a wave of deadly drugs being snuck inside the gates.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, WPLN News Tagged With: drug overdose, prisons, Tennessee Department of Correction

Slavery is still allowed as a punishment for crime in Tennessee’s constitution. Amendment 3 seeks to change that.

Paige Pfleger

October 31, 2022

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Update: Amendment 3 was passed by Tennessee voters, so the language of the state’s constitution will be updated accordingly. Find all of WPLN’s live Election Day coverage here. The inspiration for Amendment 3 came about a decade ago, behind the bars and barbed wire of Riverbend Maximum Security Prison.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: Elections 2022, prisons, Tennessee Constitution, Tennessee Department of Correction

28 people have died of overdoses in Tennessee’s prisons this year. Lawsuits blame understaffing and easily available drugs.

Paige Pfleger

October 5, 2022

More than two dozen people have died of overdoses behind bars in Tennessee this year. Twelve of those deaths happened in privately operated prisons, run by Brentwood-based CoreCivic.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, WPLN News Tagged With: CoreCivic, drug overdose, prison, Tennessee Department of Correction

Woman charged with murder after allegedly sneaking meth into a correctional facility

Blaise Gainey

August 17, 2022

Tennessee prison barbed wire

A Middle Tennessee woman who shared a kiss with a man inside a county prison has now been charged with his murder. Rachel Dollard is accused of passing a balloon with half an ounce of meth while kissing Joshua Brown. Brown later died of an overdose at a local hospital.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, WPLN News Tagged With: meth, Tennessee Department of Correction

Governor Lee allows ‘truth in sentencing’ bill to become law, but says he favors re-entry programs

Blaise Gainey

May 6, 2022

Tennessee prison barbed wire

Lee and legislative leaders have had differences over what the long-term effect will be.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, Politics, WPLN News Tagged With: 112th Tennessee General Assembly, Bill Lee, Cameron Sexton, mandatory minimum sentences, prisons, Tennessee Department of Correction

Tennessee lawmakers pass ‘truth in sentencing’ bill, following months of heated debate

Samantha Max

April 24, 2022

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The debate about a controversial criminal sentencing measure is over. After months of back and forth, Tennessee lawmakers voted to pass a bill last week that would require many people to spend much longer in prison.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, Politics, WPLN News Tagged With: 112th Tennessee General Assembly, Cameron Sexton, mandatory minimum sentences, prisons, Tennessee Department of Correction

Tennessee governor postpones first scheduled execution since the pandemic, citing concerns about lethal injection protocol

Samantha Max

April 21, 2022

Oscar Smith was not killed by the state of Tennessee as planned Thursday night.
Gov. Bill Lee granted Smith a temporary reprieve barely an hour before the execution was scheduled to take place, citing “an oversight in preparation for lethal injection.”

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, WPLN News Tagged With: Bill Lee, death penalty, execution, Tennessee Department of Correction

The other epidemic: Overdoses are spiking in Tennessee prisons, as deadly drugs circulate through supposedly secure facilities

Samantha Max

March 17, 2022

Tennessee prison barbed wire
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Drug deaths have jumped more than eightfold in Tennessee prisons in the past two years. That’s left people inside, their loved ones and even officials feeling desperate.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, WPLN News Tagged With: CoreCivic, COVID-19, drugs, fentanyl, overdose, prison, private prisons, Tennessee Department of Correction

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