Private prison operator under investigation after $4M in settlements

CORE-CIVIC, THE LARGEST PRIVATE PRISON OPERATOR IN THE UNITED STATES, FACES SCRUTINY FROM FEDERAL AUTHORITIES AFTER YEARS OF ALLEGATIONS INVOLVING MISTREATMENT OF INMATES INSIDE ITS TENNESSEE FACILITIES. INVESTIGATORS RECENTLY LAUNCHED A PROBE… UNCOVERING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN SETTLEMENTS PAID OUT BY THE COMPANY.

CORE-CIVIC SPENT OVER 4 MILLION DOLLARS SINCE 2016 TO SETTLE NEARLY 80 LAWSUITS IN THE STATE OF TENNESSEE. THESE SETTLEMENTS INVOLVE SOME DISTURBING CLAIMS… RANGING FROM BRUTAL INMATE BEATINGS TO MEDICAL NEGLECT, WITH OVER 20 DEATHS TIED TO THESE CASES.

ONE FACILITY AT THE CENTER OF THIS CONTROVERSY IS THE TROUSDALE TURNER CORRECTIONAL CENTER… WHERE FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS ARE FOCUSING THEIR EFFORTS. 

Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights:

“Violence at Trousdale Turner reportedly has been endemic since it opened in 2016. Recent reported incidents of violence include: stabbings of five individuals within a three-week span in early 2024.”

THE PRISON HAS BEEN PLAGUED BY REPORTS OF VIOLENCE, CONTRABAND SMUGGLING AND SEVERE STAFF SHORTAGES. ONE LAWSUIT ALLEGES THAT A DIABETIC INMATE DIED AFTER BEING REPEATEDLY DENIED HIS MEDICATION. ANOTHER INVOLVES AN INMATE WHO KILLED HIS CELLMATE TO FORCE A TRANSFER OUT OF FEAR FOR HIS OWN SAFETY.

CORE-CIVIC DID NOT ADMIT WRONGDOING IN ANY OF THESE SETTLEMENTS, BUT WHISTLEBLOWERS AND ADVOCATES ARE SPEAKING OUT, SUGGESTING THAT PAYING SETTLEMENTS HAS SIMPLY BECOME A COST OF DOING BUSINESS FOR THE COMPANY.

ONE OF THE LARGEST SETTLEMENTS, FOR 900-THOUSAND DOLLARS… INVOLVED AN INMATE’S SUICIDE AT ANOTHER FACILITY, WHERE RECORDS WERE FALSIFIED BY STAFF. SINCE 2016, TENNESSEE HAS FINED CORE-CIVIC OVER 37-MILLION FOR STAFFING SHORTAGES AND FAILURES TO MEET CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS. DESPITE ALL THIS, CORE-CIVIC HAS CONTINUES TO OPERATE, REPEATEDLY RENEWING CONTRACTS WITH THE STATE.

THE LEGAL SAGA RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF PRIVATE PRISON OPERATORS AND WHETHER THEY PRIORITIZE PROFIT OVER INMATE WELFARE… AS SETTLING LAWSUITS APPEAR TO BE VIEWED AS PART OF THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS. IN THE MEANTIME, MANY FAMILIES CONTINUE TO FIGHT… SEEKING MORE THAN JUST FINANCIAL COMPENSATION… BUT REAL CHANGES INSIDE THESE FACILITIES.

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FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M LAUREN TAYLOR.