Learn More → State by State
Tennessee
Political repression plays out state by state — shaped by local institutions, prosecutors, and movements for defense. These are the documented political prisoners and cases the census holds for Tennessee.
55Documented
2In custody
46Released
1Awaiting trial
Eras of repression in Tennessee
Where Tennessee’s entries fall across the census’s historical eras.
2020s 13
1800s 10
1950s 6
1910s 6
1990s 4
1970s 4
Documented cases
55 entries in the census — every one stays in the record, whether the case is open or closed.
J
James Pierce
Released
James Pierce was a coal miner of the Washburn, Tennessee area arrested in December 1933 and sentenced to a yea...
N
Nelson Pierce
Released
Nelson Pierce was a coal miner of the Washburn, Tennessee area arrested in December 1933 and sentenced to a ye...
H
Haley Rainwater
Released
Haley Rainwater was one of six people arrested October 9, 2020 in Collierville TN after spray-painting and thr...
H
H.B. Roberts
Released
H.B. Roberts was a conscientious objector from Tennessee imprisoned during World War I. Court-martialed for re...
P
Perry Sturges
Released
Perry Sturges was a teacher at the Highlander Folk School, arrested in the July 31, 1959 police raid on the in...
D
Donnie Thornsbury
Released
Donnie Thornsbury is a union miner who was involved in the bitter 15-month strike of the A.T. Massey Coal Comp...
R
Roger Williams
Released
Roger Williams was a defendant in the Memphis 16 housing protest case supported by local Panther organizing. H...
Institutions in Tennessee
Prisons, jails, and detention centers in Tennessee that appear in the census’s case files.
Knox County JailKnoxville, Tennessee
4 cases
Robertson County Circuit Court
2 cases
Tennessee state prison (Davidson County)Nashville, Tennessee
2 cases
Perry County JailLinden, Tennessee
1 case
Knox County Detention FacilityKnoxville, Tennessee
1 case
FCI Memphis Satellite CampMillington, Tennessee
1 case
Shelby County Circuit Court
1 case
Nashville / Memphis city jailsNashville, Tennessee
1 case