“TEAR GAS WAS USED” by Sharon Rondeau (Apr. 19, 2017) — In a letter dated April 12, 2017, an inmate at the South Central Correctional Facility (SCCF) in Clifton, TN acknowledged an April 8 incident which took place at the Turney Center Industrial Complex (TCIX) in which three correction officers were injured and hospitalized at […]
FURTHER EVIDENCE OF “HANDS-ON TRAINING” by Sharon Rondeau (Apr. 9, 2017) — In what appears to be corroboration of recent accounts from inmates at the Morgan County Correctional Complex (MCCX) in Wartburg, TN, a reliable source has told The Post & Email that an inmate with possible special needs was “assaulted” and his cellmate “shoved […]
“I LOST BALANCE AND FELL” by Sharon Rondeau (Feb. 26, 2017) — An inmate at Tennessee’s Morgan County Correctional Complex (MCCX) reported by means of a formal grievance that he was punched in his right rib cage by a correction officer early last month. The inmate, Richard A. Mayers, requires a wheelchair and has reported […]
“LIKE A CANCER ALL ACROSS THE REST OF THE STATE” by Sharon Rondeau (Nov. 13, 2016) — The Post & Email recently received a letter from an inmate at the Morgan County Correctional Complex (MCCX), reputed by some to be one of the better Tennessee prisons, describing “hands-on training” exercised by correction officers against inmates. […]
“GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE” by Sharon Rondeau (Oct. 23, 2016) — In a July 30, 2016 article prompted by a letter received from Tennessee state inmate Richard A. Mayers, The Post & Email related Mayers’s report of repeated beatings at the hands of correction officers at the West Tennessee State Penitentiary (WTSP), where […]
“THANKING YOU MOST KINDLY” by Sharon Rondeau (Sep. 19, 2016) — In a July 30 article titled, “Can Prison Wardens Be Criminally Charged for Inmate Injuries Occurring Under Their Watch?” The Post & Email published a detailed letter from TDOC inmate Richard Mayers, who had written us three successive letters over a short period of time […]
BUT AT LEAST ONE EXISTS by Sharon Rondeau (Aug. 14, 2016) — For nearly seven years, The Post & Email has reported on the practice of Tennessee criminal court judges’ selection of the foreman of each county grand jury by personal preference rather than from the legally-impaneled jury pool. Potential members of both grand juries […]
“THE WARDEN IS CHARGED WITH THE DUTY OF TREATING THE INMATES WITH HUMANITY AND KINDNESS” by Sharon Rondeau (Jul. 30, 2016) — The Post & Email is in receipt of three letters from TDOC inmate Richard A. Mayers, #347890, who is housed at West Tennessee State Penitentiary (WTSP) in Henning and describes unspeakable abuse at […]
“‘WE THE PEOPLE’ HAVE THE LAST WORD” by LCDR Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III (Ret.), TDOC #540003, WTSP (Jul. 17, 2016) — [Editor’s Note: The following is a portion of a 12-page letter received on Monday, July 11 from Tennessee inmate Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III. Fitzpatrick served 20 years in the U.S. Navy until his retirement […]
“HE HAS BLOOD ON HIS CLOTHES” by Sharon Rondeau (Jun. 27, 2016) — On June 14, 2016, The Post & Email first reported allegations received from a credible source that a West Tennessee State Penitentiary (WTSP) inmate had been beaten by a number of correction officers until unconscious in early April in apparent retaliation for […]
“KEVLAR BODY ARMOR, HARDENED PUNCHING GLOVES” ALLEGEDLY USED by Sharon Rondeau (Jun. 14, 2016) — Last week, The Post & Email learned of an inmate at the West Tennessee State Penitentiary (WTSP) who was reportedly pummeled into unconsciousness by as many as six heavily-defended correction officers after the inmate broke a window. WTSP is run […]
REPORT PUBLICIZED TDOC INTERNAL MEMO CITING EXCESSIVE FORCE, UNDERSTAFFING, UNEXPLAINED SOLITARY CONFINEMENT by Sharon Rondeau (Jun. 10, 2016) — On May 24, The New York Times published an Associated Press article reporting understaffing with resulting consequences for prisoners at the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center (TTCC) in Hartsville, Trousdale County, TN. While assembling research for a […]
WILL PRISON CONDITIONS IMPROVE OR WORSEN WITH SCHOFIELD’S IMMINENT DEPARTURE? by Sharon Rondeau (Jun. 9, 2016) — In a lengthy and detailed report published on Thursday by NBC News in its “U.S. News” section, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam was quoted in his praise of Department of Correction head Derrick Schofield, who tendered his resignation last […]
“ROUGH AND ROUGHED” by Sharon Rondeau (Jun. 8, 2016) — After nearly two months, The Post & Email on Tuesday received two letters from Tennessee inmate Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III. One was five pages and the other 15, with the second a follow-up to the first. Nearly two years ago, Fitzpatrick was sentenced to three […]
WILL BECOME “VP” WITH “WORLDWIDE” LEADER IN PRISON ADMINISTRATION by Sharon Rondeau (Jun. 1, 2016) — The embattled commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), Derrick Schofield, has tendered his resignation, according to WSMV, Channel 4 in Nashville, to take an executive position in a “worldwide” correctional company. Schofield was hired in 2011 by […]
HEALTH AND WELFARE UNKNOWN by Sharon Rondeau (May 25, 2016) — Following approximately six weeks of silence from Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) inmate Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III, The Post & Email contacted the West Tennessee State Penitentiary (WTSP) on Wednesday afternoon to inquire into his well-being. We were able to reach a female correction […]
INMATES’ RELATIVES SAY INCARCERATION “A BUSINESS” by Sharon Rondeau (May 24, 2016) — Several more relatives of inmates at a privately-run prison in Hartsville, Trousdale County, TN have come forward to detail their observations of conditions within the facility and the effects on their respective loved ones. The Trousdale County Correctional Center (TTCC) in Hartsville […]
AFTER TENNESSEE HIGH COURT REFUSES TO HEAR APPEAL by Sharon Rondeau (Mar. 17, 2016) — On November 4, 2015, Atty. Van Irion filed an Application for Permission to Appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court from the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals on behalf of Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III, who was incarcerated on August 19, 2014 […]
ARE NEW SURROUNDINGS MORE DANGEROUS THAN BEFORE? by Sharon Rondeau (Mar. 11, 2016) — By means of a letter received on Friday, The Post & Email learned that Tennessee inmate #540003, Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III, was relocated to the West Tennessee State Penitentiary (WTSP), colloquially known as “West High,” on March 1. While we know […]
DANGEROUS TENNESSEE PRISON CLASSIFIES GANG MEMBERS AS “MEDIUM SECURITY“ by Sharon Rondeau (Feb. 23, 2016) — A letter received on Monday from an inmate at the Northwest Correctional Complex (NWCX) in Tiptonville, TN reports that the stabbing of an inmate on February 9 triggered a three-day “lockdown” of Site 1, which houses the most dangerous […]