TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Mar 13, 2020

Nashville Public Defender Martesha Johnson is calling on criminal justice officials to take steps to "minimize the exposure of the vulnerable individuals housed in Nashville’s jails and prisons" to COVID-19. Her office is asking courts to immediately release individuals who are high risk or vulnerable according to the Centers for Disease Control on their own recognizance unless there is clear evidence they present an unreasonable risk to community safety. She is also calling for all non-essential cases to be postponed, the Nashville Scene reports. Meanwhile, all Tennessee prisons have suspended visitation and have begun screening staff for symptoms, the Tennessee Department of Corrections announced yesterday.