Tennessee’s Department of Correction is requesting a $6.8 million contract increase for its private prison operator despite penalizing the company $44.78 million since 2022 for contractual shortfalls, $15 million in the last five months alone.
Correction officials told lawmakers Tuesday that Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, which is under a civil rights investigation by the Department of Justice, has a 33.7% vacancy rate for prison officers compared with 26% at state-run prisons. The facility is one of four prisons operated by CoreCivic, a publicly-traded company that runs facilities nationwide.
Trousdale Turner sustained a 146% turnover rate in 2023, making it more difficult to check on prisoners and avert safety risks.
“None of this makes sense where the state is increasing the amount it’s paying CoreCivic every year but also penalizing CoreCivic for not meeting the terms of the contract,” said Democratic Sen. Jeff Yarbro of Nashville. “It seems that we need to really take a close look at what’s being required in these contracts where CoreCivic’s falling short and what we can do about it.”
CoreCivic refuses to disclose what it pays officers, and in some instances when it has personnel shortages, it brings in officers from other states to boost staff.
Yarbro considers that a “transparency” problem and said CoreCivic has the resources to increase officer pay and benefits to meet the terms of the state contract. Tennessee boosted prison officer pay by 35% two years ago.
None of this makes sense where the state is increasing the amount it’s paying CoreCivic every year but also penalizing CoreCivic for not meeting the terms of the contract.
– Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville
Correction Commissioner Frank Strada continued to defend CoreCivic after a budget hearing Tuesday, calling the company a “partner” for the state and saying the prison system has monitors who determine whether the privately-run prisons are meeting contract demands. He said the CoreCivic prisons have seen a decrease in violent incidents and contraband but provided no statistics to back up that assertion.
“They are doing what they can for progress,” Strada said after the Senate State and Local Government Committee approved his budget request.
The state pays CoreCivic about $240 million annually despite audits detailing low staffing, violence, deaths and other problems. Tennessee’s overall prison budget could jump $91.6 million to $1.4 billion if lawmakers approve the department’s request.
Strada said the $6.8 million increase for CoreCivic is based on inflation, not a pay raise.
In spite of the increase in penalties against the company, Strada said his department is “holding them accountable.” He said CoreCivic has corrected 90% of the findings in a state audit conducted more than two years ago.
The total number of deaths in CoreCivic prisons from 2019 through 2022 was 221, more than a third of the 645 deaths reported in the entire state 14-prison system, including facilities for women, according to department figures. More than half of the prison system’s drug-related deaths in that time frame took place in the four private prisons out of 143 drug-related deaths overall. The department did not give death statistics for all of 2023 and 2024.
Frank Strada, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction, says his department is holding CoreCivic accountable despite since October 2024. (Photo: John Partipilo)
The Department of Correction provided information to the Tennessee Lookout Tuesday showing the state has levied fines totaling $44.78 million against CoreCivic since 2022, up some $15 million since last October. Those include $15.4 million assessed against Hardeman County Correctional Facility, $6.3 million against South Central Correctional Facility, $10.8 million against Trousdale Turner and $12.15 million against Whiteville Correctional Facility, according to the department.
An inmate died at Hardeman County Correctional Facility and several others were injured in December 2024.
Separately, a lawsuit was filed against CoreCivic last year claiming an inmate died of a drug overdose stemming from understaffing and a prison drug ring, according to news reports. The lawsuit said 418 calls for help were made about overdoses over three years at Trousdale Turner and that staff profited by allowing drugs to be smuggled into the facility.
CoreCivic declined to comment on the lawsuit at the time, but said it has a zero-tolerance policy for contraband.
A Tennessee law dating back to the 1980s when the company was founded as Corrections Corporation of America allows the state to have only one privately-run prison. The company gets around that law by contracting with counties where the prisons are located.
Since 2009, the company has spent $3.7 million on lobbying and campaign donations in the state, a Lookout analysis found.
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Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court announced Thursday it will hear oral arguments next month over President Donald Trump’s efforts to restructure birthright citizenship, though the justices won’t decide on the merits of the case just yet.
Instead, they will choose whether to leave in place nationwide injunctions from lower courts that so far have blocked the Trump administration from implementing the executive order.
The oral arguments, scheduled for May 15, will likely provide the first indication of whether any of the nine justices are interested in revisiting the Court’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 following the Civil War.
The amendment states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
The Supreme Court ruled in 1898 in United States v. Wong Kim Ark that the 14th Amendment guarantees any child born in the United States is entitled to U.S. citizenship, even if their parents are not citizens.
Trump disagrees with that ruling and signed an executive order on his first day in office seeking to change which babies born in the United States become citizens. If that order were implemented, babies whose parents were “unlawfully present in the United States” or whose parents’ presence “was lawful but temporary” would not be eligible for citizenship.
Several organizations and Democratic attorneys general filed lawsuits seeking to block the executive order, leading to nationwide injunctions against its implementation.
Last month, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the lower court’s nationwide injunctions, limiting them to the organizations and states that filed suit.
The three cases are Trump v. State of Washington, Trump v. CASA, Inc. and Trump v. State of New Jersey.
Legislation
Nationwide injunctions by lower court judges have become an issue for Republicans in Congress as well as the Trump administration.
Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley introduced a bill in Congress that would bar federal district court judges from being able to implement nationwide injunctions.
“We all have to agree to give up the universal injunction as a weapon against policies we disagree with,” Grassley said during a hearing earlier this month. “The damage it causes to the judicial system and to our democracy is too great.”
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
SUMMARY: Magic Nashville is a fashion conference showcasing upcoming trends in apparel, accessories, footwear, home gifts, and beauty, tailored for Midwest and Southern retail stores. Launched in 2022, this fourth iteration emphasizes easy shopping and community engagement. Key trends include Boho and Western styles, with a focus on comfortable denim, embroidered pieces, and flowy designs. Local brands like Hul Hoops and Nash Grey highlight Nashville’s fashion scene. With a 90-year history, Magic has evolved from a men’s show in California to include women’s fashion in Nashville. The event fosters collaboration and innovation among retailers, enhancing the shopping experience.
MAGIC Nashville is a young contemporary fashion trade show that brings together brands, retailers, and industry professionals in Nashville. It showcases a wide range of apparel, footwear, and accessories, including both established and emerging brands, new product launches, and a preview of holiday collections. Laura got a sneak peek of items you’ll soon see on store shelves.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-17 14:19:00
(The Center Square) – A bill dubbed the “Dismantle DEI Act” passed the Tennessee House on Thursday, with one Democrat calling it the “White Fragility Act.”
The bill would prevent local governments and higher education institutions from making decisions based on diversity policies.
It easily passed the Republican-dominated House 73-24 along party lines. The Senate is expected to vote on the measure Monday.
Sponsor Rep. Aron Maberry, R-Clarksville, did not speak on the bill Thursday. The bill is sponsored by Majority Leader Jack Johnson in the Senate, who told a committee earlier this month the Lee administration did not bring the bill.
“Diversity is a wonderful thing but diversity for diversity’s sake alone and making diversity the No. 1 priority over merit and over running an effective and efficient state government, I think that is wrong,” Johnson said.
Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, presented an amendment that would have called the bill the “Dismantle Civil Rights Act.” Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, labeled the bill “Another Racist Act.”
The amendments failed, along with one by Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Nashville, who wanted to name the bill the “White Fragility Act.” She said the implication that DEI is affirmative action is wrong
“With diversity, equity and inclusion, we do have some interest in who we recruiting and who we hire, because certainly organizations that serve the entire state of Tennessee or the entire public want their employees to look like that public,” Johnson said. “Why are you all so afraid of making sure that every person of every race, of every religion, disabled, women veterans, why are you doing everything you can to complicate the relationships in the workplace? “
Democrats objected to a call for the vote, saying they wanted more time to debate.
“What happened today wasn’t just a political maneuver – it was a violation of our responsibility to the people of Tennessee,” said House Minority Leader Karen Camper., D-Memphis. “My colleagues and I were prepared to speak on behalf of our constituents, to oppose a bill that undermines fairness and opportunity for all Tennesseans. Instead, we were silenced.”
