Tennessee Commissioner of Correction

Last updated
Commissioner [1] Governor
Lewis S. Pope Austin Peay IV
Richard Lyle Henry Hollis Horton
Edwin W. Cocke Harry Hill McAlister
Barton Brown Harry Hill McAlister
George Cate, Sr. Gordon Browning
Andrew T. Taylor Prentice Cooper
W.O. Baird Prentice Cooper
W.O. Baird Jim Nance McCord
Keith Hampton Frank G. Clement
Keith Hampton Buford Ellington
Harry S. Avery Frank G. Clement
Harry S. Avery Buford Ellington
Lake F. Russell Buford Ellington
Mark Luttrell Winfield Dunn
Herman Yeatman Ray Blanton
C. Murray Henderson Ray Blanton
Harold B. Bradley Lamar Alexander
William Long Lamar Alexander
Ernest Pellegrin Lamar Alexander
Stephen H. Norris Lamar Alexander
Stephen H. Norris Ned McWherter
W. Jeff Reynolds Ned McWherter
Christine J. Bradley Ned McWherter
Donal Campbell Donald K. Sundquist
Quenton I. White Phil Bredesen
George Little Phil Bredesen
Derrick Schofield Bill Haslam
Tony C. Parker Bill Haslam
Lisa Helton Bill Lee
Frank Strada Bill Lee

The Tennessee Commissioner of Correction is the head of the Tennessee Department of Correction, which supervises inmates in the state prisons of the U.S. state of Tennessee. The incumbent Commissioner of Correction is Frank Strada, who took office on January 9, 2023.

Contents

Functionality

The Commissioner is appointed by the governor of Tennessee and is a member of the governor's Cabinet, [2] which meets at least once per month, or more often to the governor's liking. [3] By statute, the Commissioner must be over the age of 25 with training and experience in institutional operation and management. The Commissioner is also authorized to appoint a secretary and stenographer for the Department, who have charge of and keep a record of the transactions of the department. [4] The Commissioner has the same power as a judge of the court of general sessions to administer oaths, and to enforce the attendance and testimony of witnesses. [5]

History

Tennessee's first central prison, the Tennessee State Penitentiary, was first established in 1831 after legislation had been passed two years earlier. The Board of Inspectors consisted of five members including the Governor and the Secretary of State. In 1871 the position of Superintendent of Prisons was created, and in 1902 the Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation for a Board of Prison Commissioners. In 1915 the General Assembly created the State Board of Controls to manage charity, penal, and reformatory institutions. This, in turn, was replaced by an Administration of State Institutions made up of the Governor, the State Treasurer, and a general manager of State Organizations. [1]

In 1923 legislative reform brought the first administration of the penal, charitable, and reformatory institutions by a Department of Institutions headed by a Commissioner of Institutions. In 1929 the Advisory Board of Pardons was established, which created a system of parole eligibility in 1931. The advisory board would be usurped by a Board of Pardons and Paroles, with appointments made by the Governor and the Chairman being the Commissioner of Institutions. Later on in 1979, after a series of changes, the Board would become autonomous of the Department, with the Chairman being appointed by the Governor and the Board's membership being increased to five. [1]

In 1937 the Department's name was changed to the Department of Institutions and Public Welfare, receiving various responsibilities that today might be handled by the modern Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Education, and the Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. In 1939 this Department was split into the Department of Institutions, and a separate Department of Public Welfare, with mental health facilities being transferred to a Department of Mental Health in 1953. [1]

In 1955 the department arrived at its present name, the Tennessee Department of Correction. In 1979 the five-year residency requirement for the Commissioner was lifted, and the Commissioner was authorized to contract with local governments when prisons became overcrowded. To the right is a table of Commissioners who have filled the function the modern Commissioner of Corrections fills today and the governors they have served under. [1]

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A law enforcement officer (LEO), or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws. The phrase can include campaign disclosure specialists, local police officers, prosecutors, municipal law enforcement officers, health inspectors, SWAT officers, customs officers, lawyers, state troopers, federal agents, secret agents, special investigators, coast guards, border patrol officers, judges, district attorney, bounty hunters, gendarmerie officers, immigration officers, private investigators, court officers, probation officers, parole officers, arson investigators, auxiliary officers, animal control officers, game wardens, park rangers, county sheriff's deputies, constables, marshals, detention officers, correction officers, sworn campus police officers and public safety officers. Security guards are not law enforcement officers, unless they have been granted powers to enforce particular laws, such as those accredited under a community safety accreditation scheme such as a security police officer.

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The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) is a Cabinet-level agency within the Tennessee state government responsible for the oversight of more than 20,000 convicted offenders in Tennessee's fourteen prisons, three of which are privately managed by the Corrections Corporation of America. The department is headed by the Tennessee Commissioner of Correction, who is currently Frank Strada. TDOC facilities' medical and mental health services are provided by Corizon. Juvenile offenders not sentenced as adults are supervised by the independent Tennessee Department of Children's Services, while inmates granted parole or sentenced to probation are overseen by the Department of Correction (TDOC)/Department of Parole. The agency is fully accredited by the American Correctional Association. The department has its headquarters on the sixth floor of the Rachel Jackson Building in Nashville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Hampshire Department of Corrections</span> Government agency in the U.S. state of New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Department of Corrections is an executive agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire; charged with overseeing the state correctional facilities, supervising probation and parolees, and serving in an advisory capacity in the prevention of crime and delinquency. As of June 30, 2013, the Department had an inmate population of 2,791, 15,267 on probation or parole, and 893 total employees, 470 as corrections officers and 64 as probation/parole officers. The agency has its headquarters in Concord.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Department of Corrections</span>

The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) is the government agency responsible for community corrections and operating prisons and correctional facilities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The agency is fully accredited by the American Correctional Association and is one of the oldest functioning correctional agencies in the United States. Its headquarters is located in the state capital of Richmond.

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The Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Concord (MCI-Concord) is a medium security prison for men located in Concord, Massachusetts in the United States. Opened in 1878, it is the oldest running state prison for men in Massachusetts. This prison is under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Department of Correction. There are 570 inmates with a total capacity of 614 general population beds.

The Oklahoma State Reformatory is a medium-security facility with some maximum and minimum-security housing for adult male inmates. Located off of State Highway 9 in Granite, Oklahoma, the 10-acre (4.0 ha) facility has a maximum capacity of 1042 inmates. The medium-security area accommodates 799 prisoners, minimum-security area houses roughly 200, and the maximum-security area with about 43 inmates. The prison currently houses approximately 975 prisoners. The prison was established by an act of the legislature in 1909 and constructed through prison labor, housing its first inmate in 1910. The facility is well known for the significant roles women played in its foundation and governance, most notably having the first female warden administer an all-male prison in the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky State Reformatory</span> Medium-security prison

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oklahoma Department of Corrections</span>

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The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles is a five-member panel authorized to grant paroles, pardons, reprieves, remissions, commutations, and to remove civil and political disabilities imposed by law. Created by Constitutional amendment in 1943, it is part of the executive branch of Georgia's government. Members are appointed by the governor to staggered, renewable seven-year terms subject to confirmation by the State Senate.

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The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP) is a state agency that makes parole and clemency decisions for inmates in Texas prisons. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 ""historicaltimeline2006.pdf"" (PDF). Retrieved September 21, 2007.
  2. ""Phil Bredesen Governor, State of Tennessee"" . Retrieved September 21, 2007.
  3. Tennessee Code, 4-3-122.
  4. Tennessee Code, 4-3-602.
  5. Tennessee Code, 4-3-604.