NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Davidson County judge has ordered the Tennessee Department of Correction to take 149 state inmates out of Nashville jails within 10 calendar days.
Metro Nashville sued the state earlier this month, saying TDOC had left inmates in local custody long after they should have been transferred, worsening overcrowding in Davidson County facilities.
Sheriff Daron Hall spoke with NewsChannel 5 in June about the overcrowding issue, saying the inmate backlog had pushed his jail hundreds over capacity and was costing taxpayers millions.
The judge ruled that state law requires TDOC to take custody of the inmates after receiving their sentencing documents. The court rejected the state’s argument that limited bed space and intake capacity made the transfers impossible.
Court filings said one Davidson County jail was operating at 110% capacity and that overcrowding had created safety, medical and sanitary concerns.
Hall praised the decision Friday.
“I am pleased with the court’s decision today regarding the crisis of state inmates overcrowding our local jails,” Hall said. “This is an important step towards our correctional system, once again, being a national model.”
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