25 People Released From Davidson County Jail in Anti-Outbreak Effort

A Nashville judge signed off on agreements to release 25 people from jail Monday, beginning the process of a system-wide effort to reduce the jail population in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

Over the weekend, Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk and Metro Public Defender Martesha Johnson came to agreements on as many as 80 people for whom they would seek an early release. They were working from a list of 264 jailed individuals identified by Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall as particularly vulnerable to the spreading illness. 

People in jails and prisons face unique risks in the current crisis. They live in close quarters and are often denied the sort of hygienic and sanitary options that most Americans are turning to now. 

“If an outbreak happens in the jail, it’s gonna be devastating to some people in there," Johnson told the Scene on Friday. "They can’t do social distancing."

Even in the best-case scenario, a jail is ripe for an outbreak of infectious disease. In Tennessee, the situation is made worse by county jails that are chronically overcrowded. 

As of late last week, no one in Davidson County’s jails or in Tennessee’s prisons had been tested for the virus. Inmates in other county facilities have reportedly been tested but were found to not have the virus. 

Funk tells the Scene that of the 25 people released from Davidson County custody on Monday, two of them had holds from other counties, meaning they’ll have to be transported to jails in those locations. The rest, he says, had their sentences suspended and will be placed on probation. 

Funk says the court will take up more cases on Wednesday and that the day in between is to allow the public defender’s office to talk to clients and explain the restrictions that would be placed on them if they are released.