The Tennessee Supreme Court has ordered local judges to come up with plans for reducing jail populations in their jurisdictions as part of the effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 22,000 people so far worldwide and more than 1,000 in the United States. In Tennessee, the number of confirmed cases continues to rise, and the illness is almost certainly more widespread than is publicly known, as testing and reporting lags behind reality.
Public health experts and criminal justice advocates have been sounding the alarm about the potential for devastating outbreaks in prisons and jails. In Nashville, Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk and Metro Public Defender Martesha Johnson have worked out agreements for early release on dozens of cases, and as of this writing, 25 people have been released from Nashville jails. Earlier this week, a large coalition of criminal justice organizations and prison advocates filed a petition asking the state Supreme Court to take action to drastically reduce the population of Tennessee's prisons and its local jails.
Chief Justice Jeff Bivins signaled general support for that effort in the court's order Wednesday.
“Reduction in local jail populations is a critical component in controlling the spread of COVID-19,” Bivins said. “There are low-risk, non-violent offenders who can safely be released and supervised by other means to reduce local jail populations. Judges, law enforcement, and attorneys must work together to identify and create an action plan to address this issue.”
The order directs the presiding judge in each judicial district to submit a plan for a reduction in the local jail population by Monday, March 30. It also extends a previous order, suspending most in-person court proceedings until April 30.
