Two new state laws will go into effect in July that aim to stop the revolving door of violent offenders being released from custody after being deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial.
Jillian’s Law, named after slain Belmont University student Jillian Ludwig, requires automatic commitment of anyone deemed mentally unfit to stand trial, while a second law provides state funding for mental health evaluations and treatment of misdemeanor offenders .
Advocates say the efforts will help fix a broken system, but mental health and disability advocates worry the laws will lead to more people languishing in overcrowded prisons because of the state’s lack of treatment programs and staffing for psychiatric beds.
How full are Tennessee’s prisons right now? Here’s a closer look at capacity and costs across the state.
How many are in prison?
According to Tennessee state figures, more than 26,000 people were in prison in April.
Prisons averaged 83% capacity, although some counties had excess capacity.
A March report from the Sycamore Institution, a policy center in Nashville, found that 19 county jails were at more than 100% capacity between October 2023 and January of this year, while 20 jails were at 90% or more.
The counties with the highest capacity were Sullivan, Humphreys, Morgan and Lewis.
Pretrial detainees, people who have not yet been convicted of a crime, make up the largest portion of the local prison population, at over 50%.
Between 2000 and 2023, the number of pre-trial detainees increased by 129%, while the number of convicted persons increased by only 2%.
The overall number of inmates in Tennessee prisons fell sharply during the pandemic but has since increased again.
A report from the U.S. Department of Justice shows that Tennessee saw a nearly 8% increase in its prison population between 2021 and 2022. Only Montana, Colorado and Mississippi surpassed the numbers.
The state passed a law in 2022 known as truth in sentencing, which requires some violent offenders to serve 100% of their sentences without the possibility of parole or early release.
In Davidson County, the Maximum Correctional Center and the men’s prison were both operating at more than 80% capacity, while the women’s prison was just below 50% in April.
How much does Tennessee spend on incarceration?
Tennessee counties will have spent an estimated $554 million operating local jails in 2022, according to the Sycamore Institute.
More than 40 countries have begun or completed the construction, expansion or renovation of prisons since 2009.
On average, counties spend 4% of their annual budget on prisons, with Shelby, Gibson, Carroll and Wilson at the top.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee prisons battle massive overcrowding and staff shortages
