Tennessee Department of Correction
Encyclopedia
The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) is a Cabinet-level
agency within the Tennessee
state government, headed by the Tennessee Commissioner of Correction
, who is currently Gayle E. Ray, who succeeded George Little on 1/1/2010. The Department is responsible for oversight of more than 19,000 convicted offenders in Tennessee's sixteen prison
s, three of which are privately managed by the Corrections Corporation of America
. Several TDOC facilities have mental health units run by MHM Services
. Juvenile offenders not sentenced as adults are supervised by the independent Tennessee Department of Children's Services
, while inmates granted parole
or sentenced to probation
are overseen by the independent Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole. The agency is fully accredited by the American Correctional Association
. The department has its headquarters on the sixth floor of the Rachel Jackson Building in Nashville
.
passed legislation that created an Industrial Division within the Department of Institutions.
In 1937, the name was changed to the Department of Institutions and Public Welfare, which had responsibility for a Confederate Soldier's Home, a School for the Blind, a School for the Deaf, a Tennessee Industrial School at the state penitentiary, the Blind Commission, the Clover Bottom Developmental Center, three regional psychiatric hospital
s, and the Gailor
Center.
In 1939, the Department of Institutions and Public Welfare was divided into a Department of Institutions and a separate Department of Public Welfare.
In 1953, the responsibility over mental health
facilities was separated into the Department of Mental Health, and in 1955, the Department of Institutions arrived at its present name, the Department of Correction.
In 1961, the state legislature established the Division of Adult Probation and Parole within the Department.
In 1963, an Act created a Division of Youth Services and provided for an Assistant Commissioner.
In 1970, a Division of Rehabilitative Services was created by the General Assembly. In that same year, an act passed that relieved the Commissioner of the Department of Correction of the position of Chairman of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, with the position now being elected by Board members.
In 1982 disbursement of funds for the fund was transferred from the Tennessee Department of Revenue
to the Department of Correction. In the mid-80s, the Department fell under federal oversight after a federal lawsuit was filed by inmates, who had complained of overcrowding and unfit conditions. In 1985, in a special session, the General Assembly funded over $320 million to improve the prison system as part of a Comprehensive Correction Improvement Act. In November 1994, Tennessee's prison systems were released from federal oversight.
of privatization of prison operations. In 1994 the Department's final two institutions passed American Correctional Association accredation audits, making the Department the first adult correctional system in the country to have all its programs nationally accredited. In 1995, the Department was reorganized, and the regional concept was abolished.
In 1998 the General Assembly established lethal injection as the method of execution for anyone that commits an offense on or after January 1, 1999. Legislation passed that transferred duties and responsibilities relating to probation services and community grant programs from the Department of Correction to the Board of Paroles, which had its name changed to the Board of Probation and Paroles. In 1999, the Department opened the first Security Threat Group in the Southeastern Tennessee State Regional Correctional Facility. In 2000, the Governor signed legislation making lethal injection, rathern than electrocution, the standard method of execution for any person sentenced to death. Inmates sentenced to death for offenses committed prior to January 1, 1999 will be executed by lethal injection, or electrocution if the inmate requests it.
Also becoming law in the year 2000 was a law that added a list of authorized witnesses for an execution. Additions may include one member of the defense counsel of the condemned as well as the Attorney General and the Reporter, or his or her designee. A Tennessee Volunteer Resource Board was created by the state legislature, which expanded the functions of the prior volunteer advisory board to include parolees as well as inmates and probationers. In 2001 a Director of Pre-Release Transition was appointed by the Commissioner of Correction to coordinate statewide pre-release programming, and a statewide contact to provide health care for the state's inmate population was added.
On October 31, 2002, Tennessee's Felony Offender Information Lookup was launched, allowing the public to search for an inmate's location, inmate number, and early release date. In 2002 the state also launched the "Tennessee Bridges" program, with the Department of Correction and the Board of Probation and Parole receiving a 1 million dollar federal grant
.
serves as the state reception and classification center for new female prisoners.
. Some condemned male prisoners are housed in the Morgan County Correctional Complex
for security reasons. All female death row inmates are housed at the Tennessee Prison for Women
. Men are housed in dedicated death row units, while women are not housed in special death row units because few women go on death row. Executions occur at Riverbend Maximum Security. From 1916 to 1960 executions occurred at the Tennessee State Penitentiary.
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
agency within the Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
state government, headed by the Tennessee Commissioner of Correction
Tennessee Commissioner of Correction
The Tennessee Commissioner of Correction is the head of the Tennessee Department of Correction, which supervises inmates in the state prisons of the U.S. state of Tennessee...
, who is currently Gayle E. Ray, who succeeded George Little on 1/1/2010. The Department is responsible for oversight of more than 19,000 convicted offenders in Tennessee's sixteen prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
s, three of which are privately managed by the Corrections Corporation of America
Corrections Corporation of America
Corrections Corporation of America is a company that owns and manages private prisons and detention centers and operates others on a concession basis. The company is the largest private corrections company in the United States and manages more than 60 facilities with a designed capacity of 90,000...
. Several TDOC facilities have mental health units run by MHM Services
MHM Services
MHM Services, Inc. is a privately held mental health services provider in Tysons Corner, VA. The company's principal customers are state and local governments.MHM employs over 2,000 clinical, management, and support staff nationwide...
. Juvenile offenders not sentenced as adults are supervised by the independent Tennessee Department of Children's Services
Tennessee Department of Children's Services
Tennessee Department of Children's Services is a state agency of Tennessee that operates services for children and youth. The agency has its headquarters on the 7th floor of the Cordell Hull Building in Nashville.-Juvenile facilities:...
, while inmates granted parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
or sentenced to probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
are overseen by the independent Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole. The agency is fully accredited by the American Correctional Association
American Correctional Association
The American Correctional Association , formerly known as the American Prison Association, is the oldest and largest international correctional association in the world. Approximately 80 percent of all state departments of corrections and youth services are active participants...
. The department has its headquarters on the sixth floor of the Rachel Jackson Building in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.
History
In 1923, the Administrative Reorganization Act created the Department of Institutions, charged with the management of the Tennessee prison system. In 1933 the General AssemblyTennessee General Assembly
The Tennessee General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional structure:According to the Tennessee State Constitution of 1870, the General Assembly is a bicameral legislature and consists of a Senate of thirty-three members and a House of Representatives of...
passed legislation that created an Industrial Division within the Department of Institutions.
In 1937, the name was changed to the Department of Institutions and Public Welfare, which had responsibility for a Confederate Soldier's Home, a School for the Blind, a School for the Deaf, a Tennessee Industrial School at the state penitentiary, the Blind Commission, the Clover Bottom Developmental Center, three regional psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
s, and the Gailor
Thomas Frank Gailor
The Right Reverend Thomas Frank Gailor was the third bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee in the Episcopal Church and served from 1898-1935. He served as the eighth chancellor of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, from June 23, 1908, until his death...
Center.
In 1939, the Department of Institutions and Public Welfare was divided into a Department of Institutions and a separate Department of Public Welfare.
In 1953, the responsibility over mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
facilities was separated into the Department of Mental Health, and in 1955, the Department of Institutions arrived at its present name, the Department of Correction.
In 1961, the state legislature established the Division of Adult Probation and Parole within the Department.
In 1963, an Act created a Division of Youth Services and provided for an Assistant Commissioner.
In 1970, a Division of Rehabilitative Services was created by the General Assembly. In that same year, an act passed that relieved the Commissioner of the Department of Correction of the position of Chairman of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, with the position now being elected by Board members.
Central office
The Department of Corrections Central Office was moved to the Andrew Jackson State Office Building. In 1972 an act reformulated the Board of Pardons and Paroles, with the board now consisting of three full time professional members appointed by the Governor, including the Chairman. In 1973 the Department of Corrections Central Office was moved to the First American Center. In 1974 the Tennessee Corrections Institute was create to train employees of the Department. In 1978 the Board of Paroles expanded its membership to five. In 1979 the Department of Correction Central Office was again moved to the State Office Building, an act made the Board of Pardons and Paroles separate from the Department of Correction, the Board of Paroles became an autonomous unit, and the Department of Correction Supervision and Rehabilitation Fund was established.In 1982 disbursement of funds for the fund was transferred from the Tennessee Department of Revenue
Tennessee Department of Revenue
The Tennessee Department of Revenue is an agency within the Tennessee state government of about 1600 people which is responsible for the "administration of state tax laws and motor vehicle title and registration laws established by the legislature and the collection of taxes and fees associated...
to the Department of Correction. In the mid-80s, the Department fell under federal oversight after a federal lawsuit was filed by inmates, who had complained of overcrowding and unfit conditions. In 1985, in a special session, the General Assembly funded over $320 million to improve the prison system as part of a Comprehensive Correction Improvement Act. In November 1994, Tennessee's prison systems were released from federal oversight.
Organization of the department
In 1989, Tennessee Department of Correction's facilities were organized into three regions, East, Middle, and West, with administrators appointed for each region. The Department of Youth Services was created, with all juvenile responsibilities and functions transferred from the Department of Correction. In March 1992 the operation of the South Central Correctional Center was contracted to the Corrections Corporation of America, with the facility being a test caseTest case
A test case in software engineering is a set of conditions or variables under which a tester will determine whether an application or software system is working correctly or not. The mechanism for determining whether a software program or system has passed or failed such a test is known as a test...
of privatization of prison operations. In 1994 the Department's final two institutions passed American Correctional Association accredation audits, making the Department the first adult correctional system in the country to have all its programs nationally accredited. In 1995, the Department was reorganized, and the regional concept was abolished.
Recent legislation
In 1997 legislation created the Sex Offender Treatment Board and Provider Network. DNA testing of all sex offenders required by legislation was begun. Legislation established the Tennessee Internet Crime Information Center, which provides online registries of sex offenders, missing children, and out-of-state parole and probation supervision. The departmental management system was restructured, and a programming planning section was created. Educational programming in institutions was also restructured. During the 100th Tennessee General Assembly, legislation was introduced to expand privatization of prison operations, but was deferred until the following session, when it was withdrawn from consideration. The General Assembly also passed a bill that allowed members of a victim's immediate family to watch an execution through a closed television circuit in an area separate from other witnesses.In 1998 the General Assembly established lethal injection as the method of execution for anyone that commits an offense on or after January 1, 1999. Legislation passed that transferred duties and responsibilities relating to probation services and community grant programs from the Department of Correction to the Board of Paroles, which had its name changed to the Board of Probation and Paroles. In 1999, the Department opened the first Security Threat Group in the Southeastern Tennessee State Regional Correctional Facility. In 2000, the Governor signed legislation making lethal injection, rathern than electrocution, the standard method of execution for any person sentenced to death. Inmates sentenced to death for offenses committed prior to January 1, 1999 will be executed by lethal injection, or electrocution if the inmate requests it.
Also becoming law in the year 2000 was a law that added a list of authorized witnesses for an execution. Additions may include one member of the defense counsel of the condemned as well as the Attorney General and the Reporter, or his or her designee. A Tennessee Volunteer Resource Board was created by the state legislature, which expanded the functions of the prior volunteer advisory board to include parolees as well as inmates and probationers. In 2001 a Director of Pre-Release Transition was appointed by the Commissioner of Correction to coordinate statewide pre-release programming, and a statewide contact to provide health care for the state's inmate population was added.
On October 31, 2002, Tennessee's Felony Offender Information Lookup was launched, allowing the public to search for an inmate's location, inmate number, and early release date. In 2002 the state also launched the "Tennessee Bridges" program, with the Department of Correction and the Board of Probation and Parole receiving a 1 million dollar federal grant
Federal grant
In the United States, federal grants are economic aid issued by the United States government out of the general federal revenue. A federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of...
.
Operations
The Tennessee Prison for WomenTennessee Prison for Women
The Tennessee Prison for Women is a Tennessee Department of Correction prison for women located in Nashville, Tennessee.TPFW, the state's primary women's correctional facility, houses women of all custody levels. The prison serves as the state's new female prisoner intake and classification...
serves as the state reception and classification center for new female prisoners.
Death penalty
Most male death row prisoners are housed in the Riverbend Maximum Security InstitutionRiverbend Maximum Security Institution
Riverbend Maximum Security Institution is a prison in Nashville, Tennessee, operated by the Tennessee Department of Correction. The prison opened in 1989 and replaced its 100 year-old neighbor, the Tennessee State Penitentiary. Even today, it is billed as one of the state's most high-tech facilities...
. Some condemned male prisoners are housed in the Morgan County Correctional Complex
Morgan County Correctional Complex
Morgan County Correctional Complex is a maximum security prison in unincorporated Morgan County, Tennessee, operated by the Tennessee Department of Correction. It opened in 1980. An expansion completed in 2009 increased its capacity to more than 2,400 prisoners. The prison is accredited by American...
for security reasons. All female death row inmates are housed at the Tennessee Prison for Women
Tennessee Prison for Women
The Tennessee Prison for Women is a Tennessee Department of Correction prison for women located in Nashville, Tennessee.TPFW, the state's primary women's correctional facility, houses women of all custody levels. The prison serves as the state's new female prisoner intake and classification...
. Men are housed in dedicated death row units, while women are not housed in special death row units because few women go on death row. Executions occur at Riverbend Maximum Security. From 1916 to 1960 executions occurred at the Tennessee State Penitentiary.
Fallen officers
Since the establishment of the Tennessee Department of Correction, 20 correctional employees have died in the line of duty.See also
- List of United States state correction agencies
- List of law enforcement agencies in Tennessee
- PrisonPrisonA prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
- List of U.S. state prisons
External links
- Tennessee Department of Correction website
- Tennessee Blue Book section on the Department (PDF)
- Frank Lee and Robert Rogers, Tennessee Prison System, Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture