TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Dec 31, 2021

A report published by the Tennessee Justice Center (TJC) yesterday says Tennessee ranks 20th in the nation for number of state inmates infected with COVID-19 per capita, WSMV reports. According to statistics in the report, as of July, one in every 515 state prisoners who contract the virus had died and one in every 300 staff members who tested positive have died. TJC says COVID-19 poses a unique challenge for prisons due to the close confinement, restricted access to personal protective equipment, overstretched health services and more. In the report, TJC recommended that lawmakers consider meaningful healthcare reform to meet the needs of those behind bars. “As with so many systems, COVID-19 has laid bare the inequities and challenges that have long existed for some of the most vulnerable Tennesseans,” Just City Memphis Executive Director Josh Spickler said.