Skip to main content
Monday, November 2, 2026Nov 2
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

This story is free to read.

Highway section honors slain Tennessee corrections official

An honor guard made up of corrections officers from various states attends the funeral for Tennessee Department of Correction administrator Debra Johnson Friday, Aug. 16, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Officials say inmate Curtis Watson killed Johnson before his escape from the West Tennessee State Penitentiary Aug. 7. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
An honor guard made up of corrections officers from various states attends the funeral for Tennessee Department of Correction administrator Debra Johnson Friday, Aug. 16, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Officials say inmate Curtis Watson killed Johnson before his escape from the West Tennessee State Penitentiary Aug. 7. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) An honor guard made up of corrections officers from various states attends the funeral for Tennessee Department of Correction administrator Debra Johnson Friday, Aug. 16, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Officials say inmate Curtis Watson killed Johnson before his escape from the West Tennessee State Penitentiary Aug. 7. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

By Associated Press 1 min read

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A section of Interstate 440 has been dedicated in the memory of a slain Tennessee corrections official.

A car parade and dedication were held Sunday for the Debra K. Johnson Memorial Parkway in Nashville.

Johnson was a Tennessee Department of Correction administrator whose body was found in her home on the grounds of a state prison in Henning in August 2019.

Johnson had been a state employee for 38 years and oversaw wardens at several area prisons.

Inmate Curtis Ray Watson was charged with killing Johnson before escaping prison on a tractor. His trial, originally set for last October, has been rescheduled for next September.