Here is the closest view you can get of the castle-like structure that was once the Tennessee State Prison which operated from 1898 until 1992. The penitentiary had its share of problems. In 1902, seventeen prisoners blew out the end of one wing of the prison, killing one inmate and allowing the escape of two others who were never recaptured. Later, a group of inmates seized control of the segregated white wing and held it for eighteen hours before surrendering. In 1907 several convicts commandeered a switch engine and drove it through a prison gate. In 1938 inmates staged a mass escape. Several serious fires ignited at the penitentiary, including one that destroyed the main dining room. Riots occurred in 1975 and 1985. Originally designed to hold 1,600 prisoners, the prison population eventually exceeded 1,900. Some prisoners have as little as 19 square feet in their cells.
Scotty Grubb and four other prisoners filed suit under 42 USC § 1983 on behalf of themselves and those similarly situated. The complaint alleged overcrowding, poor sanitation, poor medical care, rampant violence, idleness and a “laughable” current classification system. One of the main contentions focused on a claim of cruel and unusual punishment; prison conditions were so bad as to guarantee inevitable serious physical and psychological deterioration. In the end, The U.S. District Court of Tennessee determined the living conditions of Tennessee’s prisons were unfit for human habitation and the prison was shut down.
Since shutting down, it has been the location for the films Nashville, Marie, Ernest Goes to Jail, Against the Wall, The Green Mile, The Last Castle, two of Eric Church's music videos "Lightning" and "Homeboy", and Pillar's "Bring Me Down" music video. Most recently VH1's Celebrity Paranormal Project filmed there for the third episode of the series (titled "The Warden") as well as the last episode of the first season (titled "Dead Man Walking").
Congrats to bucknuts for the FTF!
