Northwest Correctional Complex

The Northwest Correctional Complex is a state prison located in Tiptonville, Lake County, Tennessee. It is owned and operated by the Tennessee Department of Correction.[2] The facility can hold 2,391 inmates at a range of security levels.[3][4] It has the second largest capacity of any state prison in Tennessee after the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center.[3] As of May 31, 2020, there were 1,958 in the facility.[3] It is the primary educational prison in the state system. In addition, inmates provide more than 100,000 hours of community service to state and local governments, and non-profit agencies annually.[1]

Northwest Correctional Complex
Location960 TN-212
Tiptonville, Tennessee
StatusOpen
Security classMedium
Capacity2,377[1]
Managed byTennessee Department of Correction

In July 2015 eight NCC inmates sustained knife wounds in gang-related stabbings. The prison, as well as the state's Northeast Correctional Complex, was put on lockdown. The disturbances were attributed by The Tennessean to understaffing and a "severe manpower shortage" following Tennessee's decision to reconfigure correctional officers' schedules to save money on overtime.[5]

In May 2020, it was reported that 394 cases of COVID-19 had been linked to the NCC. Specifically, 381 inmates and 13 staff at the prison had tested positive for the disease as of May 15.[6] As of June 3, 2020 a total of 612 inmates and 28 staff members have tested positive; 382 of those inmates have recovered and 10 staff members have returned to work.[7]

History

The Lake County Regional Correctional Facility (now called Site 2 within the complex) opened in Tiptonville in 1981, with a capacity of 500 inmates.[4] The Northwest Corrections Center opened on the site in 1992, and is called Site 1.[4]

Notable inmates

Notable inmates incarcerated at the facility include:

  • Letalvis Cobbins - convicted of the 2007 kidnapping, rape, and murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom[8]
  • George Geovonni Thomas – convicted of the 2007 kidnapping, rape, and murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom[9]
  • William Riley Gaul - convicted of the 2016 stalking and murder of Emma Jane Walker

References
  1. As of 2014; see "Northwest Correctional names new warden". State Gazette. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  2. "Northwest Correctional Complex". Tennessee Department of Correction. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  3. Tennessee Department of Correction (May 31, 2020). Tennessee Bed Space and Operating Capacities Report (PDF).CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. Grimes, Bud (2009-05-22). "He Holds the Key". Tennessee Alumnus. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  5. Wllemon, Tom (25 July 2015). "8 Tennessee prisoners hospitalized after knife fights". The Tennessean. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  6. Smith, Ashley (14 May 2020). "401 COVID-19 cases in Lake County Tenn., 394 linked to Northwest Correctional Complex". KFVS-TV. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  7. Tennessee Department of Correction (June 3, 2020). "TDOC INMATES COVID-19 TESTING" (PDF).
  8. "'We got our man' | Newsoms describe behind-the-scenes work to get Boyd on trial". wbir.com.
  9. https://apps.tn.gov/foil-app/details.jsp

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.