UPDATE: The Meigs County Jail has been decertified after a state inspection found the facility was no longer meeting Tennessee’s correctional standards.

Chief Deputy Brian Malone says the decision leaves the county with a difficult path forward.

“Renovating the jail is not gonna cut it… for us to be re-certified, we’re gonna have to build a brand new jail,” Malone explained.

The decertification stems from ongoing issues, including long-term overcrowding, according to District Attorney Russell Johnson.

“It was from years of continual overcrowding with their average daily inmate population,” Johnson said.

The first step in the transition is the relocation of inmates. Ten inmates under the Tennessee Department of Corrections, many already serving felony sentences of two to four years,

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