NASHVILLE, Tennessee — The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into Tennessee’s largest prison, which officials say has been neglected for years in the area of violence and sexual abuse, federal prosecutors said Tuesday about the privately owned facility.
Between July 2022 and June 2023, the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville saw at least 196 assaults, 90 incidents of sexual misconduct, two murders and 15 other deaths that the facility described as “accidental,” Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke said in a video conference. In just one three-week period in early 2024, there were five stabbings, she said.
“In our country, people do not give up their constitutional rights at the prison door,” Clarke said. “Everyone who is incarcerated in a prison or jail retains the fundamental right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.”
She noted that while CoreCivic, based in Brentwood, Tennessee, owns and operates the Trousdale prison, it is ultimately the state of Tennessee that must ensure that the rights of prisoners there are not violated.
A statement from the Tennessee Department of Correction said it is aware of the investigation and will cooperate fully.
Trousdale, which houses about 2,500 inmates, has been troubled since it opened in 2016, when it was forced to temporarily halt new inmates after just four months of full operation due to a series of problems, including a stabbing. In a memo obtained by The Associated Press at the time, prison department officials complained that guards lacked control over housing units, failed to count inmates properly and placed prisoners in solitary confinement without documented reasons.
Since then, Trousdale has racked up millions of dollars in state fines. Problems include chronic understaffing that audits show puts both inmates and guards at risk. And while leaders at both Tennessee Corrections and CoreCivic have repeatedly promised to fix the problems, some of the same issues that have been reported in a State audit 2017 reappeared in 2020 and audits in 2023.
Findings in the Check 2023 by the state of Tennessee included a 188% officer turnover rate at Trousdale during the previous fiscal year. State facilities had an average turnover rate of 37% during the same period. The turnover has contributed to severe staffing shortages, including many critical positions going unfilled. In one case, a single officer was charged with supervising 360 inmates. One officer was quoted in the report as saying, “At Trousdale, I feel unsafe at all times.”
In May 2020, numerous COVID-19 cases in the jail caused tiny Trousdale County to report the highest COVID infection rate per capita in the US At one point, the Tennessee Department of Correction reported that more than half of the 2,444 prisoners There were positive test results at that time.
Nashville attorney Daniel Horwitz, who has repeatedly CoreCivic Suedissued a statement praising the Justice Department’s announcement Tuesday that it would investigate prison conditions.
“The horrific abuses that regularly occur at the chronically understaffed facility are impossible to hide and have been documented year after year in the dozens of wrongful death lawsuits and other lawsuits that our company and others have filed against CoreCivic and its employees,” he said.
U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Henry Leventis noted during Tuesday’s press conference that the state has repeatedly renewed the contract for the Trousdale facility despite the problems.
The company has deep roots in Tennessee and is a prominent campaign donor that typically enjoys the support of the state’s Republican supermajority. CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger has expressed interest in a potential run for governor of Tennessee in 2026.
Asked about the investigation, CoreCivic spokesman Steven Owen issued a statement saying, “The safety and dignity of every person in our care is a top priority for our leadership and staff at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center.”
Tennessee has four prisons that operate under contract with CoreCivic. The current state budget allocates $233 million to the four facilities, including $80 million for Trousdale.