After 4 recent deaths at 201, Sheriff’s Office takes media inside jail
Capt. Alisa Styles leads media on a tour of the Shelby County Jail on Tuesday, Feb. 11. (Courtesy Shelby County Sheriff's Office)
Stains, rust and a thick coating of dust cover the cells in an empty pod on the fourth floor of the Shelby County Jail in Downtown Memphis.
The small, six-by-nine cells are bare: a bunk bed, a toilet, a sink and a small mirror. The metal bed frames have missing chunks, an indicator that, at some point, knives were carved out of them. “Free Shred,” “Free Tiny O Dogg” and “Long Live Baby Myles” are scribbled in big letters on one wall of the pod, messages left behind by the former residents.
That fourth-floor pod, which houses multiple cells, is currently vacant. The former residents were temporarily relocated in December while the cell doors are replaced.
Four inmates have died at the jail, also known as 201 Poplar, in recent weeks: one suspected overdose, one suspected suicide and two others by unknown causes. Amid those deaths, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office took a group, including a reporter from The Daily Memphian, on a Tuesday, Feb. 11, tour of the deteriorating facility.
The tour included a look at many — but not all — portions of the six-story jail including intake, where inmates are booked and processed; several of the jail’s floors; and the jail’s annex, another area where inmates are housed.
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Aarron Fleming
Once an intern, he never left, joining the staff full-time in 2022 as an education reporter. He moved to public safety in 2023, where he covered some of the city’s biggest court cases, including the criminal trials for those charged in the deaths of Tyré Nichols and rapper Young Dolph. He also chronicled the Shelby County Jail and the deaths that have occurred at the facility.
He now provides suburban coverage, focusing on Desoto County and the surrounding municipalities.
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