Address:
1319 White Street
Athens, TN 37303
Phone:
423-252-5115
Because of concerns for the safety and wellness of both staff and inmates at the McMinn County Jail in Athens, Tennessee, contact visits of any type may be suspended. Even if they have visits, from time to time, face masks may be required.
Approved Non-contact visits with family, friends and the inmate’s lawyers may still be allowed when at-home or onsite video visitation is not available, however given that new guidelines are changing daily please check the visitation page or call 423-252-5115 for updates.
At-home and onsite video visitation guidelines for McMinn County Jail, when this service is available, can be found by going to the visitation information page.
We highly recommend that you call 423-252-5115 first for any changes due to staff shortages or other unforeseen circumstances, including whether your inmate has become ill and is unable to be in the general population where video kiosks are available.
Experts in the study of the COVID-19 are anticipating that spread of the virus will be a ongoing concern for McMinn County, the state of Tennessee and the entire United States until well into 2024 and maybe even beyond. We are witnessing the virus becoming more contagious, but less deadly over time. Many people think that the 'more contagious, but less deadly' variants will infect so many people that a higher level of natural immunity for the majority of Americans will be the end result.
Whether the inmates are safe from contracting the coronavirus depends entirely on two things:
At this stage most people who get the coronavirus show very few symptoms beyond what you might experience with a bad cold or a mild case of the common flu. Newer variants are turning out to be less deadly than the common flu we experience every year.
Studies that have been done are showing that the hardest hit are those 60 years of age and older, those with pre-existing medical issues like diabetes, leukemia or obese individuals. Young men and women rarely become very ill, and when they do, seem to recover quickly.
Given the close proximity of inmates and staff to each other in this lockup, it is going to be very difficult to prevent the spread of COVID-19 once it is introduced into the facility as the virus can spread via the microscopic vapor that we release every time we speak, cough or sneeze.
We will continuously update this page as the virus changes and new policies are instituted.
Postcards
The McMinn County Jail allows inmates to receive pre-metered postcards like the type purchased from the post office. They may also allow certain photo postcards as long as they have not been tampered with or contain images that may be considered to be obscene or violent in nature.
Envelopes
The McMinn County Jail also allows regular postcards and envelopes to be mailed to inmates as well.
Postcards and envelopes MUST be mailed to the following address:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate #
McMinn County Sheriff’s Office
Cell #
c/o Securus Digital Mail Center
P.O. Box 951
Lebanon, MO 65536
Newspapers
Local or national newspapers may also be mailed to the inmate as long as they are mailed directly from the newspaper publisher.
Magazines
News, special interest or sports magazines may also be mailed to an inmate as long as they are shipped directly from the publisher. Any magazines that contain profanity, weapons, pornography or other content that is adult in nature will be confiscated by the jail staff and will NOT be delivered to the inmate.
Books
The McMinn County Jail allows books to be mailed directly to the jail from a reputable source such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million. You can order them directly from your computer and have them shipped to the inmate at the address above.
Books must NOT contain images or content that are considered excessively violent, pornographic or obscene. Any book that does not meet the McMinn County Jail standards will be disposed of. No more than three books may be shipped at any one time.
Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.
All mail, newspapers, magazines and books are to be shipped to:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate #
McMinn County Justice Center Jail
1319 South White
Athens, TN 37303
To rent a tablet for an inmate in McMinn County follow these instructions:
If you have any questions:
For all McMinn County information on Tablet Rentals for your inmate, check out our Tablet Rental Page.
To send a text or email message to a McMinn County inmate, do the following:
McMinn County Jail uses Securus eMessaging for Inmate Email.
Register here. (You are already registered if you signed up with Securus for 'Phone' or 'Remote Visitation' in McMinn County or any jail or prison in the country).
Steps:
1. Sign up for eMessaging
2. Find your McMinn County inmate.
3. Purchase a book of Securus ‘stamps’.
4. Type & Send message.
For all McMinn County information for sending secure messages to an inmate in McMinn County Jail, including instructions, video examples, fees, limits, tablet rentals and more, check out out Text/Email an Inmate Page.
To set up a phone account so that your inmate can call you from McMinn County do the following:
1. Enroll in an account with Securus Technologies.
2. Choose one of three account types, Securus Debit, Advance Connect or Direct Bill.
3. Choose [facility_name_1}, then connect with your inmate.
4. If you have any questions, call Securus: 972-734-1111 or 800-844-6591.
To find out fees, how to's, calling times, limits on phone calls and other systems Securus has do that you can communicate with your McMinn County inmate, check out our Inmate Phone Page.
NOTE: All of your inmate's phone calls are recorded and stored. It is advised not to discuss their pending case.
To schedule and set up a visit, either at-the-jail or remotely from your home, follow these instructions:
To get more complete instructions, and understand visit lengths, times, locations, fees and all the other rules including children, dress codes and more, check out or Visit Inmate Page.
NOTE: All visits are recorded and whatever you say and do will be monitored. It is best to never discuss sensitive information regarding your inmate's pending case.
For inmates receiving mail in the McMinn County Jail there are different addresses and policies depending on the inmate's status, as well as what type of mail they are receiving; personal mail, legal mail, subscriptions or books sent from a third-party such as Amazon.
All mail is to be shipped to the McMinn County Jail:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate #
McMinn County Sheriff’s Office
Cell #
c/o Securus Digital Mail Center
P.O. Box 951
Lebanon, MO 65536
For complete information on mail policies, what you can send an inmate and what address to send them, check out our Inmate Mail page.
To send commissary money to an inmate in McMinn County Jail follow these steps:
For all information on how to Send Money to an inmate's account check out our full money and commissary guide for McMinn County Jail.
