NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The top private prison company in the U.S. has spent more than $4.4 million since 2016 to settle dozens of complaints about mistreatment — including at least 22 inmate deaths — at its prisons and jails in Tennessee.
More than $1.1 million of those payouts affected Tennessee’s largest prison, the long-scrutinized Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, which is currently under federal investigation.
Details of nearly 80 settlements obtained by The Associated Press through public records requests allege brutal beatings, medical neglect and cruelty at CoreCivic’s four prisons and two Tennessee prisons.
In one case, a Trousdale inmate who feared for his life beat his cellmate Terry Childress to death in order to be transferred to another prison, the federal lawsuit says. At the chronically understaffed facility, no guards came to aid Childress, the lawsuit says. Childress’ family received a $135,000 settlement.
The family’s attorney, Daniel Horwitz, was ordered by a judge to stop publicly denigrating CoreCivic and delete tweets calling it a “death factory.” He is suing because of the gag order.
The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced an investigation into Trousdale, finding there have been consistent reports of violence since it opened in 2016. The investigation comes after years of well-documented “reports of physical assaults, sexual assaults, murders and uncontrolled flows of contraband, as well as severe staffing shortages,” said U.S. Attorney Henry Leventis.
“It actually looks like litigation resolution is a business expense 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 inquiry.
CoreCivic, headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, is worth $1.44 billion based on market capitalization.
Many made a long journey to a petite settlement
Surviving prisoners or grieving families often struggle for years to reach a settlement. Some publicly advocated their cases, speaking to news outlets and participating in demonstrations. But accepting an agreement generally required peaceful. And as is typical of cross-industry comparisons, CoreCivic admitted no wrongdoing.
The largest settlement was for $900,000 for the suicide of an inmate at South Central Correctional Facility in which staff falsified records. Three others cost about $300,000 each.
But these payouts were the exception. Half of the settlements were $12,500 or less. Some involved no money at all.
“Unfortunately, in many of these cases, victims and family members of victims are in a position to choose between paying a certain amount of money, which is probably more than they have seen in a long time, or telling the truth and telling their stories and really being able to “To do something to put an end to this,” said Ashley Dixon, a whistleblower who worked as a correctional officer in Trousdale for less than a year.
A CoreCivic spokesman, Ryan Gustin, declined to comment on specific settlements, saying most had confidentiality terms. He said the correctional facility has generally had staffing issues and pointed to CoreCivic’s hiring incentives and strategies to replenish with workers from other facilities across the country. He said 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 facilities in Tennessee. The 22 death sentences also represent only a fraction of the more than 300 deaths in the four CoreCivic prisons since 2016.
According to a 2018 lawsuit, more than half of the hundreds of deaths were ruled natural, including Jonathan Salada, who lay crying in pain on the floor of his Trousdale cell after being denied diabetes medication. He was taken to the infirmary but returned to his cell twice before being found unconscious three days later and pronounced dead in hospital. The lawsuit was settled for $50,000.
“I feel unsafe at all times”
The settled lawsuits allege that CoreCivic prisons sometimes even leave critical staff positions unfilled, leaving inmates vulnerable and unable to receive aid during attacks.
Adrian Delk received $120,000 in compensation after seven gang members beat him nearly to death for “between 20 minutes and an hour” without anyone intervening in Hardeman in 2016, his lawsuit says. He was later stabbed and beaten again, sustaining several indefinite injuries.
Prison staff are not immune to violence. In 2019, a counselor at Trousdale lost an eye and suffered other indefinite injuries when an inmate attacked and raped her with a homemade knife. As punishment for illegal drug employ, the officials withheld antipsychotic medication from the prisoner.
During a state audit in 2023, a security guard noted, “While in Trousdale, I feel unsafe at all times.”
Leventis, the U.S. attorney, noted that Tennessee was aware of problems at its CoreCivic facilities. The state Department of Corrections has fined CoreCivic $37.7 million at four prisons since 2016, including $11.1 million for problems at Trousdale. The violations include, among other things, non-compliance with personnel requirements. The state auditor released damning audits in 2017, 2020 and 2023.
Still, 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 government customer, accounting for 10% of total revenue in 2023, according to a company release. CEO Damon Hininger has even considered a run for governor in 2026.
“CoreCivic has been a very important partner to 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 prisoner, Jeff Mihm, the committee chairman tried to cut her off after the two-minute limit.
“She just told you about a death at one of our facilities and we’re going to cut her off?” replied Democratic Rep. Bo Mitchell, drawing applause.
Mihm was also denied psychiatric medication and treatment at Trousdale and took his own life in 2017, according to a lawsuit that eventually settled for $5,000.
“I think it’s very sad that they only get a small amount because these people’s lives were worth so much more,” Dixon told the AP after learning of the settlements.
Lack of medical care played a role
Many of the resolved cases allege that inmates were denied basic preventive care – diabetes medication, an inhaler, a cane, anti-seizure medication. Often, inmates were either denied access to a provider or the provider dismissed their concerns, the lawsuits say. They describe horrific outcomes, including deaths from undiagnosed cancers and pneumonia, a suicide, a leg amputation and a brain injury.
For months at the Metro-Davidson County Detention Center, Belinda Cockrill suffered extreme stomach pain, was unable to keep down food and lost more than 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms). However, she was treated primarily with diarrhea medication, according to a 2016 federal lawsuit filed by her mother.
Cockrill eventually became unresponsive and was rushed to the hospital, where she went into cardiac arrest and died. Only then was it discovered that she had rectal cancer that had spread to multiple organs.
Cockrill’s mother received $45,000 in compensation.
Kathy Spurgeon’s son Adam died in November when he contracted an infection following heart surgery while an inmate at 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 moved to Trousdale after Adam’s death. She said prison gang members called and threatened to hurt Millard if she didn’t pay thousands in protection money, which she did.
“I couldn’t risk my son being killed,” Spurgeon said.
