Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility
A 57-year-old man who was incarcerated at Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility in Nashville has died after testing positive for COVID-19.
Tennessee Department of Correction spokesperson Dorinda Carter confirmed the death to the Scene, adding that the deceased had an underlying health condition. He tested positive for COVID-19 while at the hospital and died there on July 24.
Five Tennessee prisoners have now died after testing positive for the illness.
DeBerry is reserved for incarcerated people with serious and longterm medical problems or mental health issues. As of Tuesday night, 11 other people incarcerated there have tested positive for COVID-19.
The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in a Tennessee prison was at CoreCivic’s South Central Correctional Center in Clifton on March 28. After that, the novel coronavirus burned through Tennessee’s prison system, causing large outbreaks at several facilities across the state. At one point in May, two of the worst COVID-19 hotspots in the country were Tennessee prisons.
In late March, a coalition of criminal justice organizations petitioned the Tennessee Supreme Court, seeking the mass release of vulnerable prisoners. Neither the courts nor Gov. Bill Lee have taken such action at the state level, although the state Supreme Court did order local judges to take steps to reduce jail populations.
Recently, Lee granted a reprieve to Harold Nichols, who was scheduled to be executed on Aug. 4. The governor cited "the challenges and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic."
