New Jail Almost Ready

The new Coffee County Jail will be completed by the end of July or early August. Recently Sheriff Steve Graves was a guest on WMSR’s Straight Talk program and discussed the new jail. He said it is unlikely that the new jail on Hillsboro Highway will be fully operational before January of next year. Graves said that hiring new staff members and training will take place after the final budget has passed. He said that could be as late as September.
The current jail is very overcrowded with 300 inmates in a jail built for 193. The sheriff works with the District Attorney’s office to come up with ways inmates can qualify for early release.
Those would be inmates with non-violent criminal charges and inmates who are not serving a mandatory sentence.
Also, inmates who are able to work on the work detail can receive two days credit for every one day they work on the detail. Graves said that the fate of the workhouse is still up in the air. He said that commissioners has not decided whether or not to keep the work detail program open. The program allows low-risk inmates to provide free labor outside of the jail for the cities of Manchester and Tullahoma plus several non-profits groups in the area.
The next commission meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on June 10th.