2023 Tennessee Code › Title 41 - CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND INMATES (§§ 41-1-101 — 41-51-302) › Chapter 21 - INMATES (§§ 41-21-101 — 41-21-1006) › Part 2 - REGULATION AND CARE OF INMATES (§§ 41-21-201 — 41-21-244) › Section 41-21-227 - Grant of furloughs to inmates

(a)
The department of correction is authorized and empowered to grant furloughs to the inmates in the adult correction institutions administered and operated by the department.
(b)
Furloughs shall be granted under the rules and regulations prescribed and promulgated by the commissioner of correction or the commissioner's designated representative.
(c)
All furloughs shall be made on an individual basis under reasonable conditions to inmates:
(1)
In the event of serious illness or death of a member of the inmate's immediate family;
(2)
Who have been recommended for parole by the parole board;
(3)
Who have ninety (90) days remaining before release on mandatory parole; or
(4)
Who have ninety (90) days remaining before release without parole.
(d)
(1)
Furloughs will be for a maximum of three (3) days, except extensions may be authorized by the commissioner or the commissioner's designee when an inmate is unable to return within the specified time through no fault of the inmate or when an emergency exists.
(2)
Inmates granted a furlough under subsections (b) through subdivision (d)(1) shall receive a maximum of three (3) nonconsecutive furloughs, and each furlough shall be authorized only for the purpose of securing employment and a place of residence upon release from confinement. Furloughs shall be made only to those inmates with a record of behavior and conduct as to be worthy of this privilege.
(e)
Whenever a furlough is granted to an inmate under the authority of this section, the department shall notify the chief law enforcement officer of the county in which the inmate resides that the inmate has been granted a furlough.
(f)
Furloughs may also be granted to inmates on the work release or educational release programs. These furloughs will be for a maximum of two (2) days and shall be granted under the rules and regulations prescribed and promulgated by the commissioner.
(g)
(1)
Furloughs may also be granted to inmates who serve as inmate staff at state operated, minimum security correctional institutions that are primarily utilized to house inmates who participate in the work release restitutional release and educational release programs.
(2)
The commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall prescribe and promulgate rules and regulations to establish guidelines for issuance of all furloughs authorized by subdivision (g)(1). These guidelines shall establish such limitations and conditions as may be necessary to ensure that issuance of the furloughs does not jeopardize the security of the citizenry or otherwise threaten community acceptance and support of the work release, restitutional release and educational release programs.
(h)
(1)
The department is authorized and empowered to grant furloughs to female inmates for any period of up to six (6) months to permit the giving of birth and the bonding between mother and child. If the pregnancy occurs while the female inmate is incarcerated, she shall not be eligible for furlough. No furlough pursuant to this subdivision (h)(1) shall be granted without the advance consent of the sentencing judge or the judge's successor. Furthermore, no such furlough shall be granted where there is good reason to believe that the release of a designated inmate will present a serious threat to the safety of the public or of escape by the inmate. The term of the furlough shall not be credited against the sentence that the inmate was serving so as to reduce the length of the sentence. The department shall not be responsible for any expenses, medical or otherwise, incurred by the inmate while on furlough. Where the furlough is not being used for the purpose granted, it may be revoked upon the written order of the commissioner and the inmate may be retaken into custody.
(2)
The department shall notify the state and local government committee of the senate and the state government committee of the house of representatives of the release of any person on such furlough at the same time the furlough is granted. The notice shall include, but not be limited to, the name of the person released, the rationale for releasing the person and the period for which the furlough will be effective.
(3)
The department is authorized to take all steps necessary for the formulation of rules and regulations to implement this subsection (h).
(i)
(1)
Irrespective of any other restriction imposed by this section, upon the medical recommendation of the departmental director of medical services, accompanied by a notarized report of the attending physician and the security recommendation of the head of the institution in which the inmate is held, the commissioner may grant a furlough of indeterminate duration to eligible inmates.
(2)
(A)
Subdivision (i)(1) applies only to inmates who, due to the inmate's chronically debilitated or incapacitated medical condition:
(i)
Have a medical prognosis of mortality within one (1) year or less; or
(ii)
Are no longer able to take care of themselves in a prison environment due to severe physical or psychological deterioration.
(B)
This subdivision (i)(2) applies only to those inmates who can be released into the community without substantial risk that they will commit a crime while on furlough. The commissioner, in the commissioner's discretion, is empowered to make the release subject to any reasonable conditions.
(3)
If, subsequent to the inmate's release, the inmate's condition improves so that the inmate is no longer in imminent peril of death or so that the inmate can adequately care for the inmate's own health in the prison environment, the inmate shall be returned, by order of the commissioner, to the institution from which the inmate was released. The inmate may be ordered to be returned to that institution if the inmate breaks any conditions of the furlough granted.
(4)
The department shall notify the state and local government committee of the senate and the state government committee of the house of representatives of the release of any person on such furlough at the same time the furlough is granted. The notice shall include, but not be limited to, the name of the person released, the rationale for releasing the person and the period for which the furlough will be effective.
(5)
The department is authorized to take all steps necessary for the formulation of rules and regulations to implement this subsection (i).
(j)
Furloughs for inmates who need to enter another state will be governed by the Tennessee Interstate Furlough Compact, compiled in chapter 23, part 2 of this title.
(k)
Furloughs may also be granted to inmates assigned to a community service center and classified minimum trustee. These furloughs shall not exceed more than twelve (12) hours in duration nor shall any inmate be entitled to more than one (1) furlough under this subsection (k) each month.
Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 282, s 2, eff. 4/30/2021.
Acts 1972, ch. 558, §§ 1-4; 1976, ch. 820, §§ 1-4; 1978, ch. 795, § 1; 1978, ch. 874, §§ 1, 2; 1979, ch. 186, §§ 1, 2; 1980, ch. 720, § 1; 1981, ch. 344, §§ 1-3, 5; T.C.A., § 41-356; Acts 1987, ch. 231, § 11; 1988, ch. 570, § 3; 1988, ch. 927, §§ 1, 2.