TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Mar 27, 2020

A coalition of criminal justice and prison advocacy organizations filed an emergency petition with the Tennessee Supreme Court this week seeking the release of inmates from jails and prisons as the COVID-19 outbreaks spreads across the state. The filing calls for the release of those in local jails and state prisons who meet certain criteria, the Daily Memphian reports. In related news, Nashville attorney David Raybin asked the state Board of Parole in a letter today to “accelerate the release of already-paroled prisoners” by removing the in-prison rehabilitative program requirement. According to Raybin, roughly 1,000 inmates have been granted parole but are still awaiting release. Knoxnews has more. The request comes a few days after the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers called on local jails to address the issue. Finally, the president of the American Bar Association today applauded states and localities for looking at measures to address the health and safety of prisoners and called on Congress to release older and infirm prisoners in federal custody.