Warden bill boss12/18/2023 It alternates locking down half of a pod of prisoners at a time to better control high-risk populations.Ĭritics said it was rolled out too broadly. In 2014, tier management, a signature policy of Schofield’s administration, was implemented to help maintain order. When it started happening two to three times a week, units being locked down, everyone was like, what in the world has happened here?” We very rarely had an incident in our prison. “If the violence had not soared, everything would have been fine. “People don’t like change, but if the change was good it would be fine,” said a longtime manager at West Tennessee who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation. The policies had quick and bloody consequences, said a dozen current and former staffers from three prisons interviewed by NBC News. TDOC said the max reforms were not a cost-savings measure. One department PowerPoint presentation Lester provided to NBC News said these policies would bring “improved inmate behavior,” but also “cost savings” by reducing the staffing in close custody units. Staff interviewed by NBC News said this effectively allowed high-security inmates, some very recently off max, to mingle with more vulnerable inmates in dorms monitored by fewer officers. “The problem is, of course, some guys, they’re max for a reason.”Ībout the same time, TDOC instituted a policy that more “close” security inmates, the level below maximum, could live in medium security dorms. “The number of max has dropped by half,” said Friedman of the Human Rights Defense Center, who has supported reductions in solitary confinement. But even supporters of such policies worried when Tennessee reduced its population remarkably quickly - from 1,019 in 2011 to 562 a year later, according to TDOC statistics. Shrinking the solitary population is often unpopular with staff. Staff interviewed by NBC News said prisons also grew more dangerous after a 2012 directive that wardens shrink their maximum security units, which were under 23-hour-a-day lockdown.Ī growing national consensus that prisons overuse solitary confinement has prompted many states, including New Mexico and California, to shrink their solitary populations. Tennessee's newest prison had to halt new admissions after just four months of full operation. Trousdale Turner Correctional Center is shown in Hartsville, Tenn. Tennessee prisons have seen seven homicides since June 2012, as opposed to five during the five years prior. But one violence stat difficult to argue with – homicides - has increased. ![]() Critics said the new definitions were an improvement, though the changes have made it difficult to track trends in violence. ![]() After a review by external auditors, TDOC retooled the official assault definitions. “This is not a safe, healthy, well-functioning prison system by any stretch of the imagination.”Īs a result, the definition of “assault” came under scrutiny last year from both the press and the legislature, which has held several hearings on issues at TDOC. “I want to know what kind of fantasy world living in,” said Jeannie Alexander, founder of the prisoner-rights group No Exceptions and a former prison chaplain. Those are the stories told by a chorus of voices that rarely speak as one - current and former staff as well as prisoners, families and advocates. Outsourcing to a poorly-staffed private facility. Exhausted officers overseeing chaotic prisons. Widespread resignations and dangerous understaffing. Violence against officers brushed under the rug. ![]() Bill Haslam in a statement last week.Ī very different picture emerged from interviews with more than two-dozen staffers, prisoners, family members, and advocates, as well as internal reports and court documents reviewed by NBC News. “I am personally grateful for Derrick’s professional approach and personal integrity as he worked to reduce recidivism, improve offender outcomes and assure a safe and secure environment in our corrections system,” said Gov.
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