Defendants in General Sessions Court who were ordered to serve sentences in March and April were given a 60-day extension after a court order issued Tuesday.

General Sessions Court Judge Ben Hall McFarlin Jr. ordered the extension for defendants to begin serving sentences 60 days later at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center and the Rutherford County Correctional Work Center.

“This order is issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and is limited in jurisdiction to those defendants that have to serve a sentence out of General Sessions Court of Rutherford County,” McFarlin wrote.