By Brian Haas
The Tennessean
PUTNAM COUNTY, Tenn. — If jail is the worst place to be in Putnam County, then Ghina Robinson’s bed in the medium security lockup is probably the worst place to sleep. Her bed, a small, green vinyl mattress, sits on the floor, her few belongings — soap, shampoo, a book of word searches — kept wedged between that mattress and the wall.
“It sucks — people walking all over you, you wake up you’ve got everybody else’s hair on you, it’s nasty,” said Robinson, who was in jail on a violation of probation charge. “I mean, it’s the floor.”
Tennessee’s jails are bursting at the seams. Nearly half of the state’s 109 jails have more inmates than beds, some holding two or three times as many inmates as they are certified for. Detainees in these counties find themselves sleeping on floors in common areas, using portable showers and toilets brought in so jails remain legal to operate. They’re subject to be shipped off to other counties when the fire marshal comes calling or the floor space runs out.
Full story: Tennessee jails have more inmates than beds, and there’s no solution in sight