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Riverbend Maximum Security Institution

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Coordinates: 36°11′22″N 86°54′14″W / 36.18944°N 86.90389°W / 36.18944; -86.90389
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Riverbend Maximum Security Institution
Map
LocationNashville, Tennessee
Coordinates36°11′22″N 86°54′14″W / 36.18944°N 86.90389°W / 36.18944; -86.90389
StatusOperational
Security classSupermax
Capacity714
Opened1989
Managed byTennessee Department of Correction
WardenZac Pounds

The Riverbend Maximum Security Institution (RMSI) is a prison in Nashville, Tennessee, operated by the Tennessee Department of Correction. The prison opened in 1989 and replaced its 100-year-old neighbor, the Tennessee State Penitentiary. RMSI, which is made up by 20 different buildings, sits on 132 acres (0.53 km2) located off Cockrill Bend Boulevard in Nashville. Riverbend's designated capacity is 714 offenders. Of that number, 480 are classified as high risk.

The prison's overall mission is to ensure the safety of the public, departmental employees and inmates by managing high-risk male offenders. The Warden oversees a staff of nearly 400 people, including administrative workers, correctional officers, unit managers and medical personnel.

Education programs at the prison include GED and Adult Basic Education. There are also vocational classes available for printing, commercial cleaning, industrial maintenance, cabinet making/millwork and computer information systems. TRICOR, the prison industry, also manages a data entry plant and print shop at the prison. Inmates not involved in academic vocation, or industry programs are required to work in support service roles throughout the facility.

Male death row prisoners live at Riverbend.[1] The state's electric chair and lethal injection gurney are located at Riverbend.

Notable prisoners

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Inmate Name Register Number Status Details
Michael Lee Cummins 00595912 / 3559843 Serving 8 life sentences without the possibility of parole. Perpetrator of the 2019 Sumner County murders in which he murdered 8 people, including his mother, father, and uncle.[2][3][4] A 9th victim, his grandmother, died of her injuries in 2022.[5]
Emanuel Kidega Samson 00607982 / 03772211 Serving a life sentence without parole plus 291 years. Perpetrator of the 2017 Burnette Chapel shooting in which he murdered churchgoer Melanie Crow and injured 7 others.[6][7][8][9]
  • Sedley Alley – rapist and murderer; executed by lethal injection June 28, 2006
  • Cory Lamont Batey – rapist in Vanderbilt rape case
  • Letalvis Cobbins – convicted of the 2007 murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom[10]
  • Robert Glen Coe – child rapist and murderer; executed by lethal injection April 19, 2000
  • Lemaricus Davidson – sentenced to death October 30, 2009, for the 2007 kidnapping, rape, torture and murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom[11][12]
  • Daryl Holton – child murderer; executed by electrocution September 12, 2007
  • Billy Ray Irick – child rapist and murderer; executed by lethal injection August 9, 2018
  • Bruce Mendenhall – murderer and suspected serial killer
  • Paul Dennis Reid – murderer
  • Nicholas Todd Sutton – serial killer; executed by electrocution February 20, 2020
  • Philip Workman – murderer executed May 9, 2007
  • Edmund Zagorski – murderer executed by electrocution November 1, 2018
  • George Hyatte - convicted for the murder of Tennessee corrections transport officer Wayne “Cotton” Morgan after he pleaded guilty to a robbery charge and his wife, Jennifer Forsyth Hyatte, fatally shot the corrections officer at the Kingston Courthouse in Roane County, Tennessee on August 9, 2005. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole on March 9, 2009.
  • William Newkirk - Convicted murderer in 2018 Hogwild Saloon shooting in Kingsport Tennessee, pled guilty to second degree murder, attempted first degree murder and employing a firearm in a dangerous felony, was sentenced to 19 years on April 19th, 2024.

References

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  1. ^ "Death Row Facts." Tennessee Department of Correction. Retrieved on October 25, 2023.
  2. ^ "7 bodies found in Tennessee; some ID'd as relatives of suspect Michael Cummins - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  3. ^ Jiménez, Jesus (2023-08-16). "Man Admits to Murdering 8 and Is Sentenced to Life Without Parole". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  4. ^ "A headless body. Victims bludgeoned to death: Notorious mass murderer escapes death penalty". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  5. ^ "Only survivor of 2019 Westmoreland attacks dies". News Channel 5 Nashville (WTVF). 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  6. ^ "Suspect charged with first-degree murder in mass shooting at Tennessee church". NBC News. 2017-09-25. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  7. ^ "Tennessee church shooter sentenced to life without parole". AP News. 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  8. ^ "Man convicted in Nashville church shooting sentenced to life without parole - National | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  9. ^ "Detailed Results". apps.tn.gov.
  10. ^ "Cobbins OK with attorney, still has issues with prison guards". www.knoxnews.com.
  11. ^ "Death Row Offenders". www.tn.gov. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  12. ^ "Death Row Facts". www.tn.gov. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
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