Northwest Correctional Complex
The Northwest Correctional Complex is a state prison located in Tiptonville, Lake County, Tennessee. It is owned and operated by the Tennessee Department of Correction.[2] The facility can hold 2,391 inmates at a range of security levels.[3][4] It has the second largest capacity of any state prison in Tennessee after the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center.[3] As of May 31, 2020, there were 1,958 in the facility.[3] It is the primary educational prison in the state system. In addition, inmates provide more than 100,000 hours of community service to state and local governments, and non-profit agencies annually.[1]
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Location | 960 TN-212 Tiptonville, Tennessee |
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Status | Open |
Security class | Medium |
Capacity | 2,377[1] |
Managed by | Tennessee Department of Correction |
In July 2015 eight NCC inmates sustained knife wounds in gang-related stabbings. The prison, as well as the state's Northeast Correctional Complex, was put on lockdown. The disturbances were attributed by The Tennessean to understaffing and a "severe manpower shortage" following Tennessee's decision to reconfigure correctional officers' schedules to save money on overtime.[5]
In May 2020, it was reported that 394 cases of COVID-19 had been linked to the NCC. Specifically, 381 inmates and 13 staff at the prison had tested positive for the disease as of May 15.[6] As of June 3, 2020 a total of 612 inmates and 28 staff members have tested positive; 382 of those inmates have recovered and 10 staff members have returned to work.[7]
History
The Lake County Regional Correctional Facility (now called Site 2 within the complex) opened in Tiptonville in 1981, with a capacity of 500 inmates.[4] The Northwest Corrections Center opened on the site in 1992, and is called Site 1.[4]
Notable inmates
Notable inmates incarcerated at the facility include:
- Letalvis Cobbins - convicted of the 2007 kidnapping, rape, and murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom[8]
- George Geovonni Thomas – convicted of the 2007 kidnapping, rape, and murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom[9]
- William Riley Gaul - convicted of the 2016 stalking and murder of Emma Jane Walker
References
- As of 2014; see "Northwest Correctional names new warden". State Gazette. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- "Northwest Correctional Complex". Tennessee Department of Correction. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- Tennessee Department of Correction (May 31, 2020). Tennessee Bed Space and Operating Capacities Report (PDF).CS1 maint: date and year (link)
- Grimes, Bud (2009-05-22). "He Holds the Key". Tennessee Alumnus. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
- Wllemon, Tom (25 July 2015). "8 Tennessee prisoners hospitalized after knife fights". The Tennessean. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- Smith, Ashley (14 May 2020). "401 COVID-19 cases in Lake County Tenn., 394 linked to Northwest Correctional Complex". KFVS-TV. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- Tennessee Department of Correction (June 3, 2020). "TDOC INMATES COVID-19 TESTING" (PDF).
- "'We got our man' | Newsoms describe behind-the-scenes work to get Boyd on trial". wbir.com.
- https://apps.tn.gov/foil-app/details.jsp