Tennessee Prison Without Heat During Dangerous Cold Snap

NASHVILLE, TN — Nearly 800 inmates at one of Tennessee’s largest prisons are having to face a dangerous cold snap without heat and state correction officials don’t know when they’ll make the repair.

As temperatures in Middle Tennessee fell into the single digits Monday, Riverbend Maximum Security Institution northwest of downtown Nashville lost its hot water pressure, which then caused the 28-year-old facility’s boiler to stop working.

Riverbend, home of Tennessee’s only death row, had an inmate population of 787 at the end of November, according to state figures.

Department of Correction officials are investigating the cause of the boiler failure and are unable to say when it will be fixed. Other than a brief period Wednesday afternoon, temperatures in Nashville are not expected to pass the freezing mark until this weekend.

In the meantime, the prison implemented “emergency procedures” according to the department, including the “distribution of additional blankets and the installation of portable/temporary heating units.”

The state’s Assistant Commissioner of Prisons, David Sexton, said “the staff and inmates have been extremely understanding and cooperative as we work to fix this inconvenience.“

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