Jail administrator fired in wake of inmate suicides

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — A Rutherford County jail administrator has been fired in the wake of two recent inmate suicides earlier this year.

The Daily News Journal reports that Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Lisa Marchesoni confirmed that Maj. Tommy Thompson, the jail administrator at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center lost his job on Friday.

The firing comes after inmate suicides on Jan. 30 and Feb. 7, as well as the filing of two jail-related lawsuits. It is unclear whether any of those incidents were responsible for his firing.

Sheriff Robert Arnold says he has repeatedly requested the county hire more jailers, saying that the 958-bed correctional facility is understaffed by at least 43.

The newspaper’s attempts to reach Thompson were unsuccessful.