MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A court denied an appeal that could keep suspected West Tennessee family murderer Austin Drummond out of a state prison while he waits for his trial.

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Drummond's attorney filed that appeal after a judge ruled that Drummond should be transferred from the Obion County Jail to a Tennessee Department of Corrections prison. His attorney argued that Drummond hasn't yet been convicted in the case of the four murdered family members and therefore can't be held in a prison only designed to hold defendants post-conviction. Obion County Jail was holding Drummond for the Lake County Jail, which didn't possess the resources or staff to ensure Drummond's safety adequately.

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