Local 3 News reports that the Meigs County Jail in Tennessee was decertified on Wednesday due to persistent overcrowding and failure to meet the Tennessee Corrections Institute’s minimum standards, despite being under a corrective plan of action for the past 12 years. As a result, the jail administrator is urgently contacting other facilities to secure housing for inmates, particularly the ten serving felony sentences, including some sex offenders who are harder to place and cannot serve as trustees.

District Attorney Russel Johnson noted that the county had anticipated the Tennessee Department of Corrections would transfer the inmates, but they have now been informed that Meigs County must arrange and fund the transfers themselves. The loss of current inmate trustees—who are trained to handle cooking, cleaning, and laundry—would force the county to hire outside staff to maintain daily operations.

Ultimately, resolving the long-standing compliance issues and finding a permanent solution now falls to the Meigs County Commission.