Prison operator under federal scrutiny spent millions settling Tennessee mistreatment claims

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The leading private prison company in the US has spent more than $4.4 million since 2016 handling dozens of complaints of abuse – including the deaths of at least 22 inmates – in its prisons and jails in Tennessee.

More than $1.1 million of these payouts related to Tennessee’s largest prison, the long-investigated prison Trousdale Turner Correctional Centerwhich is now under federal investigation.

Details of nearly 80 settlements provided to The Associated Press through public records requests allege brutal abuse, medical neglect and cruelty at CoreCivic’s four prisons and two Tennessee prisons.

In one case, a Trousdale inmate, fearing for his life, beat his cellmate, Terry Childress, to death in order to be transferred to another prison, the federal lawsuit said. No guards came to Childress’ aid at the chronically understaffed facility, the complaint alleges. Childress’ family received a $135,000 settlement.

The family’s lawyer, Daniel Horwitz, was ordered by a judge to stop publicly disparaging CoreCivic and to tweets down called it a “death factory.” He denounces the gag order.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced an investigation into Trousdale, noting that reports of violence have been endemic since it opened in 2016. The investigation comes after years of well-documented “reports of physical violence, sexual violence, homicides and an uncontrolled flow of contraband and severe staffing shortages,” said U.S. Attorney Henry Leventis.

“It certainly appears that settling lawsuits is a cost of doing business, rather than an alarm, a wake-up call, a siren,” said Mary Price, general counsel for Families Against Mandatory Minimums, which advocated for the Trousdale research.

Headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, CoreCivic has a net worth of $1.44 billion as measured by market capitalization.

Surviving prisoners or grieving families often fought for years to reach a settlement. Some publicly advocated their causes, spoke to news media and participated in demonstrations. But accepting a settlement generally required calm. And, typical of multi-sector settlements, CoreCivic did not admit to any wrongdoing.

The largest settlement was for $900,000 over the suicide of a South Central Correctional Facility inmate during which staff falsified records. Three others were for about $300,000 each.

But those payouts were an exception. Half of the settlements were for $12,500 or less. Some involved no money at all.

“In many of these cases, victims and family members of victims unfortunately find themselves in this position of having to choose between receiving a certain amount of money, which is likely more than they have seen in a long time, or speaking their truth and sharing their stories. and actually be able to do something to put an end to this,” said Ashley Dixon, a whistleblower who worked as a corrections officer in Trousdale for less than a year.

A spokesperson for CoreCivic, Ryan Gustin, declined to comment on specific settlements, saying most have confidentiality terms. He said the corrections industry in general has had staffing issues and pointed to CoreCivic’s hiring incentives and strategies to supplement with employees from other national facilities. He said the CoreCivic facilities provide “comprehensive medical and mental health care” and are closely monitored by the state.

The settlements represent a fraction of the lawsuits CoreCivic has faced over its Tennessee facilities. The 22 death settlements also represent just a fraction of the more than 300 deaths at the four CoreCivic prisons since 2016.

More than half of the hundreds of deaths were ruled natural, including Jonathan Salada, who lay on his cell floor in Trousdale crying in pain after being denied diabetes medication, according to a 2018 lawsuit. He was taken to the infirmary but returned returned to his cell twice before being found unconscious three days later and pronounced dead in hospital. The lawsuit was settled for $50,000.

The settled lawsuits allege that even critical staff positions sometimes go unfilled at CoreCivic prisons, leaving inmates unprotected and unable to get help when attacked.

Adrian Delk received a $120,000 settlement after seven gang members nearly beat him to death for “between 20 minutes and an hour” in 2016 without anyone interfering with Hardeman, according to his lawsuit. He was later stabbed and beaten again, suffering several permanent injuries.

Prison staff are not immune to the violence. In Trousdale, an emergency worker lost an eye and suffered other permanent injuries in 2019 when an inmate attacked her with a homemade knife and raped her. Officials had withheld the inmate’s antipsychotic medication as punishment for illegal drug use.

During a 2023 state audit, a security guard noted, “While in Trousdale, I always feel unsafe.”

Leventis, the U.S. attorney, noted that Tennessee was aware of problems at its CoreCivic facilities. The state corrections agency has fined CoreCivic $37.7 million across four prisons since 2016, including $11.1 million for problems at Trousdale. Violations include failure to meet staffing requirements. The state comptroller has released damning audits 2017, 2020 And 2023.

Yet state leaders have consistently downplayed the problems and extended contracts with CoreCivic, a company that plays a prominent role in political spending. Tennessee is CoreCivic’s largest state customer, accounting for 10% of total revenue in 2023, according to a company filing. CEO Damon Hininger has even declared his candidacy for governor in 2026.

“CoreCivic has been a very important partner for the state,” Republican Gov. Bill Lee told reporters after announcing the Trousdale investigation.

When Dixon, the former Trousdale guard, testified before state lawmakers in 2017 about the deaths of Salada and a second inmate, Jeff Mihm, the committee chairman tried to shut her down in a two-minute window.

“She just told you about a death in one of our facilities, and we’re going to cut her off?” replied the Democratic Rep. Bo Mitchell, which led to applause.

Mihm also failed to receive psychiatric medication and treatment at Trousdale and committed suicide in 2017, according to a lawsuit that ultimately collected $5,000.

“I think it’s very sad that it’s only a small amount that they receive, because those people’s lives were worth much more than that,” Dixon told the AP after learning about the settlements.

Many of the cases settled allege that inmates were denied basic preventive care: diabetes medication, an inhaler, a cane, anti-seizure medications. Often, inmates were not allowed to see a provider, or the provider dismissed their concerns, the lawsuits allege. They describe horrific consequences, including deaths from undiagnosed cancers and pneumonia, suicide, a leg amputation and brain injuries.

At the Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility, Belinda Cockrill suffered extreme abdominal pain for months, was unable to keep food down and lost more than 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms), but was treated primarily with anti-diarrheal medications, according to a federal lawsuit from 2016 which was initiated by her mother.

Cockrill eventually became unresponsive and was rushed to the hospital, where she went into cardiac arrest and died. It was only then that it was discovered that she had rectal cancer that had spread to several organs.

Cockrill’s mother received a $45,000 settlement.

Kathy Spurgeon’s son Adam died in November when he contracted an infection following heart surgery while in Trousdale. Spurgeon said she was misled about her son’s condition and that he was denied medication despite her requests.

Spurgeon did not sue CoreCivic because she feared retaliation against her other son, Millard, who was transferred to Trousdale after Adam’s death. She said members of the prison gang called and threatened to hurt Millard if she didn’t pay thousands in protection money, which she did.

“I couldn’t take the chance that my son would be killed,” Spurgeon said.