TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Mar 20, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, one group is particularly vulnerable: people in jail. Many suffer underlying health conditions. Plus, they’re locked into tight quarters, often without regular access to soap or hand sanitizer. That is why the Davidson County sheriff says he is urging Nashville's criminal justice agencies to limit the number of people coming into the jails. That leaves law enforcement officials grappling with how to balance public safety and public health interests, WPLN reports. Sheriff Daron Hall says this is a crisis unlike anything else and that law enforcement agencies need to work together — not just go about “business as usual.” Criminal justice reform advocates and the local public defender have called on officials to develop a “comprehensive plan to safeguard the health of the people being held.”