Derrick Schofield, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of CorrectionsNASHVILLE – Tennessee prison officials say their plan to close a state prison in Nashville isn’t tied to a complex deal in which 2,550 state inmates will be housed at a Corrections Corporation of America-owned facility.
Still, Corrections Commissioner Derrick Schofield acknowledged some of the estimated 660 minimum-security inmates at the state-owned and run Charles B. Bass Correctional Complex could eventually wind up at the new prison in Trousdale County.
“At some point they may transfer to Trousdale,” Schofield said, but quickly noted “that’s not our intent” behind closing the Bass complex.
The state in July signed a contract with Trousdale County, which in turn has contracted with CCA as it builds a new prison there. The Nashville-based, investor-owned company is constructing a $140 million medium-security prison in the county and will own and operate it.
Closing Bass makes economic sense, Schofield said, citing a $92 cost-per-day for each inmate, compared to about $74 a day for other state-run prisons in Nashville.