News Archive

  • Monday, August 31, 2020 | 02:23pm

    Nashville - A second round of mass testing for COVID-19 has been completed at the South Central Correctional Facility in Wayne County. Of the 1,410 total tests conducted between Thursday and Friday of last week, 965 inmates tested positive with 168 test results pending.

    Read full story
  • Thursday, August 06, 2020 | 02:40pm

    NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Prison for Women (TPFW) will now be known as the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center. Governor Bill Lee signed Executive Order No. 56 renaming the women’s facility in honor of the TDOC Correctional Administrator who was killed in the line of duty one year ago.

    Read full story
  • Wednesday, August 05, 2020 | 04:19pm

    HENNING –He was once named one of the FBI’s “10 Most Wanted Fugitives.” Now, a former prison escapee is back in Tennessee to serve the remainder of his sentence. Lohman Ray Mays, Jr, an habitual offender who escaped from the Turney Center Industrial Prison 36 years ago, was recaptured in Wyoming in 1985 and has since been serving a federal sentence for bank robbery.

    Read full story
  • Wednesday, August 05, 2020 | 07:54am

    PIKEVILLE – Six people have been arrested after a special operation by the Tennessee Department of Correction’s Office of Investigations & Conduct (OIC). TDOC special agents began apprehending individuals indicted by the Bledsoe County Grand Jury last week.

    Read full story
  • Monday, August 03, 2020 | 05:09pm

    Nashville – August 7, 2020 will mark a somber anniversary for the Tennessee Department of Correction. It was on this day, one year ago, that our beloved Correctional Administrator Debra Johnson was killed in the line of duty.

    Read full story
  • Wednesday, July 29, 2020 | 10:22am

    NASHVILLE – The Department of Correction has taken a unique approach to reaching out to inmates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because visitation at all state prisons has been suspended since March, TDOC has partnered with the 4th Purpose Foundation to bring visitation back--via video messaging.

    Read full story
  • Monday, July 20, 2020 | 03:28pm

    HENNING – Offering offenders opportunities and access to a second chance is an important part of what we do in TDOC. At the Women’s Therapeutic Residential Center (WTRC), women enrolled in the cosmetology program are not only thriving, but they are also learning to navigate new challenges in the age of COVID-19.

    Read full story
  • Friday, July 17, 2020 | 11:28am

    NASHVILLE – In accordance with state law, representatives from the following news media agencies have been selected to witness the execution of inmate Harold Nichols #146457.

    Read full story
  • Thursday, July 16, 2020 | 02:18pm

    NASHVILLE - Thanks to an agreement reached with Tennessee State University, the Department of Correction is expanding its large network of agricultural programs. On Monday, July 6, Commissioner Tony Parker signed an agreement that will allow land near the old Charles Bass Correctional Complex to be used in TSU’s agricultural sciences program.

    Read full story
  • Thursday, July 02, 2020 | 02:42pm

    NASHVILLE – In accordance with state law, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) is now accepting applications from recognized Tennessee news organizations to serve as statutorily required witnesses for the scheduled execution of death row inmate Harold Nichols #146457.

    Read full story
  • Wednesday, June 24, 2020 | 09:34pm

    Many parts of Tennessee are adjusting to a new normal in the age of COVID-19 and TDOC is no exemption. On Tuesday, some of the inmate work crews from the Turney Center Industrial Complex Annex in Wayne County resumed work, all while practicing safe social distancing protocol.

    Read full story