Commission of Correction approves Tennessee County Jail variance to scan nonprivileged inmate mail

The Commission of Correction voted to approve a variance requested by the Tennessee County Jail to allow the facility to scan nonprivileged inmate correspondence via a third‑party vendor while photocopying privileged correspondence.

Adam, a staff member presenting the item, told commissioners the request — listed in the packet as variance '26 b o 2' — seeks relief from part 7004.1 and part 7004 3 a. "Superintendent Diana Penzi is requesting a variance for relief from part 7,004.1 and part 7004 3 a, which would allow the facility to scan nonprivileged correspondence via 3rd party vendor and photocopy all privileged correspondence," Adam said. He said commission staff reviewed the application and "recommended be approved until 01/01/2027 with the 20 specified conditions contained within the staff write up."

The chair opened the floor for questions and then called a motion to approve the staff recommendation; a member seconded and the chair recorded "all in favor," indicating the motion passed as presented. The transcript does not record a roll‑call vote or individual vote tallies.

The approval means the facility may implement the vendor scanning process under the conditions listed in the staff write‑up; the commission did not read the 20 conditions on the record during the portion of the meeting captured in the transcript. The staff recommendation sets the variance to expire on 2027‑01‑01 unless otherwise modified by the commission.

Commission documents referenced the Tennessee County Sheriff's Office and Superintendent Diana Penzi as the applicant; the transcript did not include further public comment or discussion of privacy safeguards beyond the staff presentation and the commission's motion to approve. The item now moves into the commission's administrative records for compliance review and monitoring per the conditions in the staff write‑up.