DISTRICT 9
District Attorney
Russell Johnson
Serving Loudon, Meigs, Morgan and Roane County | Tennessee
Both of Gen. Russell Johnson’s parents, Lawrence and Dr. Martha Russell Johnson, were teachers and instilled in him an interest in history and political science from an early age. He was inspired to become a lawyer by his maternal uncle, William Russell, who was both a lawyer and involved with politics. During his late high school career at Lebanon (Va.) High School, Gen. Johnson had the opportunity to follow around a local attorney named Randy Campbell for half a day, once a week. There he was able to watch his first criminal jury trial – a “whisper stop” drug case.
Gen. Johnson stayed focused on being accepted to law school throughout his undergrad at Auburn University. Upon graduation from the University of Tennessee College of Law and passing the bar exam, Gen. Johnson started an independent practice in Loudon County, Tenn. When presented with the opportunity to run for the Tennessee General Assembly in 2000, he took it and served in the Tennessee House of Representatives for three terms.
Victim Services
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Assistant District Attorneys
Bob Edwards
Assistant District Attorney
Criminal Court Supervisor
Mike Davis
Assistant District Attorney
General Sessions Court Supervisor
Kristin Curtis
Assistant District Attorney
Meigs & Roane County Drug Prosecutor
Joe Caldwell
Assistant District Attorney
9th Judicial District DUI & Vehicular Homicides Prosecutor
Chris Rodems
Assistant District Attorney
General Sessions/Juvenile Courts
Jed Bassett
Assistant District Attorney
Loudon & Meigs Criminal Court Prosecutor & Child Abuse Prosecutor
Jonathan Edwards
Assistant District Attorney
Morgan & Roane County Criminal Court Prosecutor & Child Abuse Prosecutor
Jason Collver
Assistant District Attorney
Loudon & Morgan County Drug Prosecutor
Kelly Ingle
Assistant District Attorney
General Sessions/Juvenile Courts
Anna Howard
Assistant District Attorney
General Sessions/Juvenile Courts
Marla Holloway
Assistant District Attorney
General Sessions/Juvenile Courts
Staff
Tina Jarnagin
Grand Jury Coordinator
Assistant to the ADAs
Karen Joseph
Drug Unit
Assistant to the ADAs
Cynthia Noles
Drug Task Force
Assistant to the ADAs
Charlene Hipsher
Grant Coordinator
Cortney Dugger
ICAC Investigator
Chanel Finnell
Criminal Investigator
News/Press Releases
Facebook Posts
Murderer with 99 year prison sentence still being afforded parole hearingsShade Underwood murdered his friend Ernest Ward with a shotgun blast to the chest in Morgan County in 1981. This was done in reprisal for Ernie giving a statement to the Morgan County sheriff confirming that Ernie was with Shade when Shade shot into a Sunbright restaurant that also served beer. Shade was mad because he had been thrown out for his drunk and disorderly conduct by the female proprietor. Upon being interviewed by the Sheriff about the crime, Ernie Ward told him “Shade will kill me for this.” After killing Ernie, Shade Underwood went on to place his murdered friend in Shade’s car and set the car on fire in a remote location, shooting a bullet into the body beforehand to make it look like a different manner of murder other than a closing encounter with a shotgun. Shade then later reported his car is stolen to the sheriff’s office.Upon being interviewed about the murder with the evidence, the sheriffs office had already gathered, Shade Underwood eventually confessed to the murder. Shade Underwood was tried before a Morgan County jury by a young prosecutor named Paul Phillips. Underwood was convicted by the jury of what was then called murder two - essentially what is now known as second-degree murder. He was given a 99-year prison sentence by the jury which was sentence confirmed by the court. This is different set of circumstances than now where only the judge renders the sentence - with the exception of death penalty cases, where the jury decides if death is appropriate or not in first-degree murder cases.Shade Underwood has remained in prison since that time with his release eligibility date being calculated by TDOC as the year 2062, which represents approximately 19 years of “good time“ credit. In spite of this 99-year sentence given by the jury that convicted him, Shade Underwood has now come up for parole a half dozen times beginning in 2003. The mother of Ernest Ward, Shirleen Rosenbaum Ward and members of her family initially had to travel to the prison in in Mountain City beginning in 2003 and again in 2005 for parole hearings, and then again for parole hearings in 2014. Since then there have been parole hearings in 2022, 2024, one in June of 2026 that everyone showed up for, but was continued because Underwood had a heart ‘episode’ that caused the hearing to be postponed at the last second with everyone being present until it was taken back up yesterday, October 14th. Shade Underwood is now 66-years old. Ernest Ward‘s mother is 87-years old. Her mind is incredibly sharp. Her memory is amazing, and the heinous death of her precious son still weighs heavy on her mind. In spite of her ability to still get around she does so with the assistance of a walker out of an abundance of caution.General Paul Phillips is in his late 70s and walked into the hearing room at TDOC for the parole hearing with the assistance of a cane and the steadying arm of Paul’s successor in office, 8th District Attorney General Jared Effler. In 1981 when the case was tried, Morgan County was in the eighth judicial district. A few years after that, Morgan County was shifted to the ninth judicial district, so technically the case of Shade Underwood in any post-conviction matters or parole matters is in the jurisdiction of my office.We all arrived at the hearing office before 9 AM on Wednesday. We waited until 11:30 am for our turn to be heard, watching a video screen where the hearing officer appeared and we could see Shade Underwood sitting at a table in a room at Northeast Correctional prison in Mountain City. The hearing officer read the summary of the crime, the prosecution of the case, the jury verdict and sentence. He also questioned Shade Underwood about his health, his disciplinary record in prison, the classes and carpentry training that he received in prison, and asked him about his home environment growing up, and if he wanted to say anything about the murder that he committed against his best friend.As is Shade Underwood‘s nature, he slightly laughed and added that he had “shot up a few beer joints”. He acknowledged his affinity for drinking beer and revealed that the last time he was drunk was six years ago before one of his parole hearings. He did not explain how he got the alcohol substance upon which he was able to get drunk in prison. He did say that he could not remember or had forgotten many of the details of the murder. He did not display any significant remorse, other than to merely say that he “was sorry”. He did not offer any significant effort to soothe the feelings of Ernie‘s mother or to establish how he would not be a threat to others if he was to be paroled and return to Sunbright.General Paul Phillips then spoke about the circumstances of the crime as I have explained here above. He expressed how mean Shade Underwood was and his reputation in the community for violence with a total lack of respect for the law during his days leading up to the murder.Shirleen Ward spoke about the calm nature and loving heart of her son, and how Ernie would be a friend to anyone, including even the likes of Shade Underwood.When it came my time to speak, I pointed out the significance of the 99-year sentence imposed by the jury, recognizing the heinous and brutal nature of the crime and burning of the body to conceal the true aspect of the murder. I spoke about the burden of the system, putting Ernest Ward’s family, especially his dear mother, through this process on a regular basis, when the intent of the verdict and sentence was to keep Shade Underwood in prison his entire life or at least until he reached the age of 120 years, which should be the result of the 99-year sentence. I requested of the hearing officer for the board of parole to at least put the next parole review off six years, which is currently the longest such a view can be put off.Fortunately, the hearing officer, Tim Gobble, who is a former sheriff of Bradley County accepted that request and recommended to the rest of the seven member parole board that the next review of shade Underwood‘s possibility of parole be in October 2032.Our hope is that the majority of the border of parole affirms that decision.The photo is of 9th District Attorney General Russell Johnson, former 8th District Attorney General Paul Phillips, and current 8th District Attorney General Jared Effler.
INMATE SENTENCED FOR SEXUAL BATTERY OF FEMALE MCCX CORRECTIONS OFFICERWartburg, TN- (Friday 10/9/2026) Montarius Douglas, (age 24), a former MCCX inmate was found guilty of sexual battery following a jury trial held in February 2026. He was sentenced in the Criminal Court for Morgan County today, October 9, 2026. Douglas was found guilty of committing sexual battery when he grabbed and groped a female corrections officer (CO) in buttocks outside of his cell at the Morgan County Correctional Complex, on October 19, 2024. The CO was performing routine duties in a common area at the time. Inmate Douglas was serving a 15-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter out of Gibson County, TN.When the CO went to unlock and open a door for Douglas, he came up behind her and grabbed her buttocks without consent. Security camera footage in the prison captured the incident. Douglas admitted on the witness stand that he did in fact grab CO’s buttocks without her consent. At both the jury trial where he was convicted and at his sentencing hearing today Inmate Douglas talked about letting “his fleshly desires control his actions”. The CO testified about the lasting impact the assault has on her in her ability to perform her job at MCCX that she returned to and performs daily. She emphasized to the Court at the sentencing hearing that she wanted to follow through with prosecution to stand up for the other CO’s at MCCX and within the Tennessee Department of Corrections statewide, to try and hold inmates accountable through the criminal justice system and not the currently far less punitive TDOC administrative disciplinary system.Criminal Court Judge Jeff Wicks presided over both the trial and today’s sentencing hearing. Assistant District Attorney Anna Howard, who tried the case before the jury along with Jonathan Edwards, argued for a two-year sentence to be served consecutively to the sentence Douglas is currently serving.Douglas is currently facing three counts of Contraband in a Penal Institution after three prison-made knives were found in a cell occupied by Douglas alone in December 2025. Judge Wicks agreed with the State and sentenced Douglas to serve a two-year sentence at 100% consecutive to the sentence Douglas is currently serving for voluntary manslaughter, meaning he will have to serve an additional two years. He will also be required to register as a sex offender upon release from incarceration. END OF RELEASE
The End of the Strada Era: Gives Governor Lee the Opportunity to Address the Failures of the TDOCThe Tennessee Department of Correction plays a critical role in our criminal justice system, and its leadership directly affects public safety, victims, law enforcement, prosecutors, correctional officers, and inmates across our state.The serious problems that have emerged within TDOC over the past year—including violence and security concerns inside our prisons, the death of a correctional officer, subsequent inmate deaths requiring investigation, and two failed executions—have raised legitimate questions about the Department’s leadership and operations.Commissioner Strada’s resignation provides an opportunity for meaningful change. I hope new leadership will work quickly with Governor Lee to restore confidence, accountability, and stability within TDOC.As one of Tennessee’s 32 District Attorneys General, I also hope that both the remainder of this administration and the next administration will seek meaningful input from prosecutors, law enforcement, correctional professionals, and others who work within the criminal justice system every day. We stand ready to help identify problems and develop practical solutions that make Tennessee’s prisons—and our communities—safer.