Tennessee Prisons Chief Says System Will Make Changes

The head of Tennessee’s prison system says he’s willing to ditch a controversial new scheduling policy that has upset guards.

He also says prisons will stop requiring that attacks on guards result in injuries before counting them as assaults.

The tweaks come a week after the American Correctional Association recommended the changes, which are meant to boost morale among guards.

Correction Commissioner Derrick Schofield told a panel of state lawmakers that he’s ready to go along with the changes, but it’ll take a few months to roll them out.

“It’s a lot more complicated than just saying, let’s change A-B-C-D,” he told reporters afterward. “We’re going through a very methodical process to make sure that we get it as close to right as possible.”

The changes may seem small, but they’re meant to solve some serious issues. Guards say new scheduling rules have contributed to high turnover. And that turnover — when combined with light penalties for assault — has made Tennessee prisons dangerous, they claim.

Tyler Nelson, a guard at the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility in Nashville, says the concessions are a step in the right direction.

“It’s good to see that Commissioner Schofield is starting to listen to us,” said Nelson. “I’m really pleased the legislators have had that effect on him.”

Republicans at the hearing seemed to want to lay the controversy to rest.

But Democrats and the Tennessee State Employees Association called again for a full audit of prisons. They said it might turn up even more problems.