Commissioner	Governor
Lewis S. Pope	Austin Peay IV
Richard Lyle Richard Lyle Richard Lyle is a Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament, representing the Central Scotland region.Lyle, who was educated at Lawmuir School and Bellshill Academy, has served as a local councillor on Motherwell District Council and North Lanarkshire Council since 1976.-...	Henry Hollis Horton Henry Hollis Horton Henry Hollis Horton was Governor of Tennessee from 1927 to 1933.-Biography:Horton was born in Alabama into the family of a Baptist minister. He taught school for six years before being admitted to the bar in 1894. He served several terms in the legislature, and was elected speaker of the...
Edwin W. Cocke	Harry Hill McAlister
Barton Brown	Harry Hill McAlister
George Cate, Sr.	Gordon Browning Gordon Browning Gordon Weaver Browning was an American politician who represented Tennessee in the United States Congress and was later Governor of Tennessee from 1937 to 1939 and again from 1949 to 1953.-Biography:...
Andrew T. Taylor	Prentice Cooper Prentice Cooper William Prentice Cooper was an American politician and Governor of Tennessee from 1939 to 1945.-Life and career:A native of Bedford County, Tennessee, he attended Vanderbilt University and then Harvard University...
W.O. Baird	Prentice Cooper Prentice Cooper William Prentice Cooper was an American politician and Governor of Tennessee from 1939 to 1945.-Life and career:A native of Bedford County, Tennessee, he attended Vanderbilt University and then Harvard University...
W.O. Baird	Jim Nance McCord Jim Nance McCord Jim Nance McCord was an American journalist and politician who served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives and two terms as Governor of Tennessee ....
Keith Hampton Keith Hampton Keith HamptonKeith N. Hampton is an Assistant Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania...	Frank G. Clement Frank G. Clement Frank Goad Clement served as Governor of Tennessee from 1953 to 1959, and again from 1963 to 1967.-Early life:...
Keith Hampton Keith Hampton Keith HamptonKeith N. Hampton is an Assistant Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania...	Buford Ellington Buford Ellington Earl Buford Ellington , a native of Mississippi, was the 42nd Governor of Tennessee from 1959 to 1963 and again from 1967 until 1971....
Harry S. Avery	Frank G. Clement Frank G. Clement Frank Goad Clement served as Governor of Tennessee from 1953 to 1959, and again from 1963 to 1967.-Early life:...
Harry S. Avery	Buford Ellington Buford Ellington Earl Buford Ellington , a native of Mississippi, was the 42nd Governor of Tennessee from 1959 to 1963 and again from 1967 until 1971....
Lake F. Russell	Buford Ellington Buford Ellington Earl Buford Ellington , a native of Mississippi, was the 42nd Governor of Tennessee from 1959 to 1963 and again from 1967 until 1971....
Mark Luttrell	Winfield Dunn Winfield Dunn Bryant Winfield Culberson Dunn was the 43rd Governor of Tennessee, from 1971 to 1975.-Biography:Dunn was born in Meridian, Mississippi. He graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1950 with a B.B.A., and from the University of Tennessee Medical Units in Memphis in 1955 with a D.D.S. Dunn...
Herman Yeatman	Ray Blanton Ray Blanton Leonard Ray Blanton was the 44th Governor of Tennessee from 1975 to 1979. Blanton's administration was rife with corruption.-Early life and Congress:...
C. Murray Henderson	Ray Blanton Ray Blanton Leonard Ray Blanton was the 44th Governor of Tennessee from 1975 to 1979. Blanton's administration was rife with corruption.-Early life and Congress:...
Harold B. Bradley	Lamar Alexander Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander is the senior United States Senator from Tennessee and Conference Chair of the Republican Party. He was previously the 45th Governor of Tennessee from 1979 to 1987, United States Secretary of Education from 1991 to 1993 under President George H. W...
William Long William Long William Long is the name of:* William J. Long, American nature writer* William Ivey Long, costume designer* William Long...	Lamar Alexander Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander is the senior United States Senator from Tennessee and Conference Chair of the Republican Party. He was previously the 45th Governor of Tennessee from 1979 to 1987, United States Secretary of Education from 1991 to 1993 under President George H. W...
Ernest Pellegrin	Lamar Alexander Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander is the senior United States Senator from Tennessee and Conference Chair of the Republican Party. He was previously the 45th Governor of Tennessee from 1979 to 1987, United States Secretary of Education from 1991 to 1993 under President George H. W...
Stephen H. Norris	Lamar Alexander Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander is the senior United States Senator from Tennessee and Conference Chair of the Republican Party. He was previously the 45th Governor of Tennessee from 1979 to 1987, United States Secretary of Education from 1991 to 1993 under President George H. W...
Stephen H. Norris	Ned McWherter Ned McWherter Ned Ray McWherter was an American politician who served as the 46th Governor of Tennessee from 1987 to 1995. He was a Democrat.McWherter was born in Palmersville, Weakley County, Tennessee...
W. Jeff Reynolds	Ned McWherter Ned McWherter Ned Ray McWherter was an American politician who served as the 46th Governor of Tennessee from 1987 to 1995. He was a Democrat.McWherter was born in Palmersville, Weakley County, Tennessee...
Christine J. Bradley	Ned McWherter Ned McWherter Ned Ray McWherter was an American politician who served as the 46th Governor of Tennessee from 1987 to 1995. He was a Democrat.McWherter was born in Palmersville, Weakley County, Tennessee...
Donal Campbell	Donald K. Sundquist
Quenton I. White	Phil Bredesen Phil Bredesen Philip Norman "Phil" Bredesen Jr. was the 48th Governor of Tennessee, serving from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected Governor in 2002, and was re-elected in 2006. He previously served as the fourth mayor of Nashville and Davidson County from 1991 to...
George Little	Phil Bredesen Phil Bredesen Philip Norman "Phil" Bredesen Jr. was the 48th Governor of Tennessee, serving from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected Governor in 2002, and was re-elected in 2006. He previously served as the fourth mayor of Nashville and Davidson County from 1991 to...

The Tennessee Commissioner of Correction is the head of the Tennessee Department of Correction

Tennessee Department of Correction

The Tennessee Department of Correction is a Cabinet-level agency within the Tennessee state government, headed by the Tennessee Commissioner of Correction, who is currently Gayle E. Ray, who succeeded George Little on 1/1/2010...

, which supervises inmates in the state prisons of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

. The incumbent Commissioner of Correction is George Little, who was appointed September 8, 2005.

Functionality

The Commissioner is appointed by the governor of Tennessee and is a member of the governor's Cabinet, which meets at least once per month, or more often to the governor's liking. By statute, the Commissioner must be over the age of 25 with training and experience in institutional operation and management. The Commissioner is also authorized to appoint a secretary and stenographer for the Department, who have charge of and keep a record of the transactions of the department. The Commissioner has the same power as a judge of the court of general sessions to administer oaths, and to enforce the attendance and testimony of witnesses.

History

Tennessee's first central prison, the Tennessee State Penitentiary, was first established in 1831 after legislation had been passed two years earlier. The Board of Inspectors consisted of five members including the Governor and the Secretary of State. In 1871 the position of Superintendent of Prisons was created, and in 1902 the Tennessee General Assembly

Tennessee General Assembly

The Tennessee General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional structure:According to the Tennessee State Constitution of 1870, the General Assembly is a bicameral legislature and consists of a Senate of thirty-three members and a House of Representatives of...

 passed legislation for a Board of Prison Commissioners. In 1915 the General Assembly created the State Board of Controls to manage charity, penal, and reformatory institutions. This, in turn, was replaced by an Administration of State Institutions made up of the Governor, the State Treasurer, and a general manager of State Organizations.

In 1923 legislative reform brought the first administration of the penal, charitable, and reformatory institutions by a Department of Institutions headed by a Commissioner of Institutions. In 1929 the Advisory Board of Pardons was established, which created a system of parole eligibility in 1931. The advisory board would be usurped by a Board of Pardons and Paroles, with appointments made by the Governor and the Chairman being the Commissioner of Institutions. Later on in 1979, after a series of changes, the Board would become autonomous of the Department, with the Chairman being appointed by the Governor and the Board's membership being increased to five.

In 1937 the Department's name was changed to the Department of Institutions and Public Welfare, receiving various responsibilities that today might be handled by the modern Department of Veterans Affairs

Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs

The Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs is a Cabinet-level agency within the Tennessee state government, headed by the Tennessee Commissioner of Veterans Affairs, who is currently Many-Bears Grinder...

, the Department of Education

Tennessee Department of Education

The Tennessee Department of Education is the state education agency of Tennessee. It is headquartered on the 6th floor of the Andrew Johnson Tower in Nashville....

, and the Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. In 1939 this Department was split into the Department of Institutions, and a separate Department of Public Welfare, with mental health facilities being transferred to a Department of Mental Health in 1953.

In 1955 the department arrived at its present name, the Tennessee Department of Correction. In 1979 the five-year residency requirement for the Commissioner was lifted, and the Commissioner was authorized to contract with local governments when prisons became overcrowded. To the right is a table of Commissioners who have filled the function the modern Commissioner of Corrections fills today and the governors they have served under.