By Sam Stockard
Gov. Lee shows no signs of dumping CoreCivic, which runs four state prisons for $233 million a year
Lee said the state reduced the number of inmates at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center and increased pay for the state’s correctional officers.
The inmate population was cut to 2,068 over the last year from 2,480 in October 2023, according to the Department of Correction.
It is unclear whether state pay increases translated into higher salaries for CoreCivic’s prison guards. CoreCivic declined to answer questions from the Lookout about officer pay.
Changes Lee identified have been slow coming after a series of bad audits by the state comptroller.
The state hit CoreCivic with millions of dollars in civil penalties over several years for failure to meet contractual requirements.
Yet the Republican governor leans toward defending the company, which runs four state prisons, instead of taking a hard line against the Brentwood-based, publicly-traded corporation. Several Democratic lawmakers, in contrast, have said it is wrong for a company to make a profit on prisoners.
“CoreCivic’s been a very important partner to the state in operating the prisons that they operate,” the governor said last week, a day after the federal investigation was announced.
The prison operator has given $69,000 to Lee’s campaign, including funds to hold an inauguration. CoreCivic is one of the 25 top political spenders according to database of campaign finance and lobbying reports maintained by the Lookout. Since 2009, the company has spent $3.7 million, about three-fourths of that on lobbying.
CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger has also become a Republican political player, speaking and giving out gifts at a yearly GOP gathering and broaching the idea of a gubernatorial run.
Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada, who has said he is “satisfied” with CoreCivic’s efforts in spite of poor audits, has “spent quite a bit of time” visiting the facility to deal with potential deficiencies, the governor said.
The state paid CoreCivic $233 million last year to operate four state prisons, $77.7 million of which went to Trousdale Turner. Three of those contracts run through local governments because of a state law that limits Tennessee to only one prison contract with a private operator.
The Department of Correction also increased its payout to CoreCivic even though the company sustained a 146% turnover rate in 2023 and had a 48% vacancy rate at critical posts, according to a comptroller’s report.
In announcing the civil rights investigation last week, U.S. Attorney Henry Leventis said public information suggests Trousdale Turner has suffered “serious problems” since it opened, including reports of staffing shortages, physical and sexual assaults, murders and a 188% turnover rate among guards last year. Federal prosecutors said the state holds “ultimate responsibility” for prisoners.
Because of those types of failures, CoreCivic paid $20 million in liquidated damages in recent years, although the fines really amount to reductions in the amount the state pays the company.
As recently as late July, a CoreCivic spokesman called the partnership with the state a success and said the company is “proud of the innovative solutions” provided for inmates to help them on release, in addition to saving tax dollars.
A different company spokesman said last week CoreCivic has worked closely with the state to improve safety and security and provide programs to help inmates re-enter society.
Gov. Lee did acknowledge the importance of the state’s audits and CoreCivic’s responsibility to meet contractual requirements.
“We want to know where the shortcomings are. And we want to take steps moving forward, and I believe that we will see we have taken steps…,” he said. “But it’s a never-ending process.”
FAMM, a national criminal justice advocacy group formerly known as Families Against Mandatory Minimums, said last week it supports the federal probe, noting prisoners should not be subjected to stabbings, sexual and physical abuse, deadly overdoses, medical neglect and gang extortion, all caused in part by “under-investment.”
“And yet, that is what people imprisoned at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center face on a daily basis. A prison sentence should never include the experience of living daily in fear of death,” said FAMM general counsel Mary Price.
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