A Davidson County Chancery Court judge has ordered the Tennessee Department of Correction to take custody of 149 state inmates currently housed in Davidson County jails, siding with Metro Nashville in a dispute that has dragged on for months.
The ruling, handed down Friday, gives TDOC and Commissioner Frank Strada 10 calendar days to accept the inmates from Metro’s custody.
At the center of the case is a state law that the court says creates a non-discretionary duty for TDOC to take custody of certain inmates once it receives their sentencing paperwork and once a 14-day statutory waiting period has passed. Metro attorneys argued the state had been sitting on that obligation, leaving Nashville to absorb the cost and the crowding.
The inmates affected fall into two groups: people sentenced to more than six years in prison, and individuals arrested in Davidson County on parole violations stemming from other counties. Metro’s position throughout the case was that both groups belong in TDOC custody, not with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office.
Money has been a major part of the fight. Under the current reimbursement structure, TDOC pays Metro $41 per inmate each day the state’s inmates remain in Davidson County jails. But it actually costs Metro $116.34 a day to house each of those inmates, a gap Metro says has added up fast. Earlier this year, Metro filed court motions stating that the state’s failure to take custody of its inmates had already cost Nashville more than $5 million, citing severe overcrowding at local facilities.
Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall welcomed the ruling, calling it an important step toward making Nashville’s correctional facilities safer and more secure for both staff and inmates.
The order now puts the clock on TDOC. With 10 days to act, the state faces pressure to move the inmates and ease strain on a jail system Metro says has been stretched thin by the delay.