Gibson County inmate complains of unsafe conditions at jail: 'I don't feel safe here'

An inmate is calling for change at the Gibson County Correctional Complex in Trenton, complaining of unsafe living conditions and being denied access to file court documents.

In a lawsuit filed in the West Tennessee District on May 10, Thomas Brandon Karnes is seeking $100,000 in mental and emotional damages and $100,000 for the construction of the jail for failure to pass inspection. The hand-written complaint was filed without an attorney representing the inmate.

Karnes wrote that the jail is unsafe for many inmates, naming Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas and other jail officials in the lawsuit. Thomas is facing multiple charges in two Tennessee counties. He's been accused of profiting from an inmate labor scheme.

Records show the Gibson County jail passed inspections in 2020, 2022 and 2023.

A call seeking comment from Gibson County Mayor Nelson Cunningham was not returned.

'I trust nobody here'

In his complaint, Karnes said that latches are welded on all cell doors in I-Pod and can only be locked manually from the outside.

"I do not feel safe here," Karnes wrote in his complaint. "It has affected me mentally and emotionally. I trust nobody here at this facility.

"This is a fire hazard being they can only be accessed from the outside," Karnes said in his complaint. "It puts the lives of 26 inmates in jeopardy if the facility catches on fire."

William Wall, Tennessee Corrections Institute executive director, said jails are inspected once a year to ensure they meet the state's minimum standards.

All jails are required to have manual overrides of electronic locking systems, or if a jail does not have the funds necessary for electronic door locks, they can use key locks.

Karnes said in his complaint that windows are welded shut, tables are rusted and painted over and are not made of stainless steel.

Wall said rusted tables are a maintenance issue and would have been flagged during an inspection. There was no mention of rusted tables in an April 16 inspection when Karnes would have been an inmate.

"The inspection revealed this facility meets all applicable minimum standards," the inspection report said.

Although the jail passed four out of the past five inspections, records show two infractions from a 2021 inspection.

During the 2021 visit, inspectors said Gibson County Correctional Complex did not meet the minimum standards for inmate supervision, and medical and dental instruments and supplies were not properly stored or inventoried. The jail was required to be re-inspection and passed.

Inspectors Dara Keeton and Miller Meadows noted inmate supervision logs were inconsistent during the 2021 check. Facility staff is supposed to personally observe inmates at least once an hour, and more frequently for inmates who are violent, suicidal or have special problems and needs.

Karnes said there is no hot or cold together, no outside light visible, no skylights, no bed times and air filters are clogged. He wrote that he was denied on multiple occasions to speak with the sheriff.

Wall said Gibson County meets the minimum standard for natural light.

"Does that mean there has to be skylights and windows in the day room and cell? No," Wall said. "The standard meets that if they are in their cell or in the day room, can they see the difference between daylight and dark."

Wall said there is no daylight requirement for temporary holding cells or in facilities that pre-date those standards.

'I feel I have had my civil rights violated'

In 2018, TCI revised minimum standards for local adult corrections facilities. Gibson County would have to meet updated standards, being a Type-1 facility constructed in 2006.

"I feel I have had my civil rights violated," Karnes wrote, saying he has been denied access to the courts and services by the jail and sheriff's office while attempting to make legal motions in his case.

The inmate said he was denied two stamped envelopes by the jail to mail documents.

"If he is saying that, that would require some follow-up," Wall said. "We do look at that when we go in, that inmates are required, especially in indigent case there, to have free legal access as far as writing to their attorneys or anything like that. They should receive the ability to get stamps, to write their loved ones."

Karnes said in his letter he was denied multiple times to speak with investigators regarding a case he has information about. Karnes is incarcerated until his release on June 30.

Also named in the lawsuit are Gibson County sheriff's Capt. Christy Combs, Sgt. Amber Galloway, corrections officer Paige Roberts, jail notary Judi Sherwood and Chief Deputy Danny Lewis.

Thomas has served as sheriff of Gibson County since 2014.

In Gibson County, he has been indicted on 18 counts of official misconduct after search warrants were issued by the FBI on Thomas' home and other locations in September 2022. He is set for arraignment July 10.

The indictment outlines six class E felony counts alleging Thomas used the labor or employment of six different inmates for his gain and benefit.

Other counts name six inmates and the use of labor to benefit Alliance Staffing Group in Milan, a hiring program catering to incarcerated individuals created by Thomas and others.

Additional counts allege the six inmates were improperly guarded to prevent escape.

In Davidson County, Thomas was indicted on four related charges. He is set to appear in a Nashville courtroom later in July.

Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Gibson County jail inmate suing sheriff over living conditions