By J. Holly McCall and Sam Stockard
The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into private prison company CoreCivic and Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, which it manages, over alleged civil rights violations.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke announced the move Tuesday morning, citing a record of assaults, murders and understaffing at the facility since it opened in 2016.
“People are incarcerated at Trousdale Turner as punishment for their crimes, but in our legal system, punishment does not and cannot include violence and sexual abuse,” said Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“Publicly available information suggests that Trousdale Turner has been plagued by serious problems since it first opened its doors,” said United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Henry C. Leventis. “This includes reports of staffing shortages, physical and sexual assaults, murders, and a 188% turnover rate among prison guards just last year.”
Clarke and Leventis noted the State of Tennessee holds ultimate responsibility for the treatment of incarcerated people within correctional facilities.
Department of Correction spokesperson Dorinda Carter said the state is aware of the investigation and will “cooperate fully.”
CoreCivic spokesman Steven Owen issued a statement Tuesday saying it is taking the matter seriously and cooperating with the state and federal government to resolve problems.
“The safety and dignity of every person in our care is a top priority for our leadership and the staff at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center. That’s why we’ve worked closely with the Tennessee Department of Corrections to identify and implement policies and processes that enhance safety and security while providing meaningful programs and services geared towards helping the individuals in our care prepare for successful reentry,” Owen said in the statement.
The state is wrapping up a five-year $276 million contract with Trousdale County for operation of Trousdale Turner, which previously was fined for improper prisoner counts, problems with solitary confinement, poor staffing and accusations its guards used excessive force.
The Legislature’s Government Operations Committee declined to extend operation of the Tennessee Department of Correction for more than two years in 2017 because of short staffing and poor operations at CoreCivic prisons, most notably Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility near Hartsville.
In 2019, the Human Rights Defense Center and No Exceptions Prison Collective found prisons operated by CoreCivic experienced twice as many inmate murders over a five-year period than facilities run by the Tennessee Department of Correction. CoreCivic operates four state prisons, one through a contract with Tennessee and three through contracts with local governments.
Despite state comptroller audits showing CoreCivic prisons, including Trousdale Turner, are failing to provide enough personnel to oversee inmates, Correction Commissioner Frank Strada has given CoreCivic a vote of confidence, saying he is satisfied with the company’s efforts to improve policies.
The company sustained a 146% turnover rate in 2023 because of difficulty hiring correctional officers, making it more difficult to monitor prisoners and avert safety risks. The state increased its payout to CoreCivic by $7 million this year, after the publicly-traded company made $233 million off the state in fiscal 2023-24.
The boost came even though CoreCivic paid $20 million in liquidated damages in recent years for failing to meet contract requirements. Parents of three inmates who died in CoreCivic-run prisons in 2021 accused the company of prioritizing profits over safety in a lawsuit against the state.
The heinous abuses that occur with regularity at the chronically understaffed facility are unhidden, and they have been documented year after year in the dozens of wrongful death and other lawsuits that our firm and others have filed against CoreCivic and its employees over, and over, and over again as CoreCivic allowed the prisoners in its care to be murdered, raped, and stabbed without intervention.
– Daniel Horwitz, Nashville attorney
Since 2009, the company has given $138,000 to Republican Party and caucus political action committees and $47,500 to the Tennessee Democratic Caucus. Gov. Bill Lee has been the biggest beneficiary, receiving $69,000, including a donation to his inaugural campaign, according to a Tennessee Lookout analysis.
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally has received $65,000 over the last 15 years and House Speaker Cameron Sexton $44,500 since he was elected in 2011.
Nashville attorney Daniel Horwitz applauded the announcement Tuesday, saying Trousdale Turner Correctional Center should be investigated for “chronic civil rights violations” and the Tennessee Department of Correction for “knowingly permitting them.”
“The heinous abuses that occur with regularity at the chronically understaffed facility are unhidden, and they have been documented year after year in the dozens of wrongful death and other lawsuits that our firm and others have filed against CoreCivic and its employees over, and over, and over again as CoreCivic allowed the prisoners in its care to be murdered, raped, and stabbed without intervention. It is long past time for this death factory to be shut down,” Horwitz said in a statement.
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