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Tennessee fines the largest private prison operator millions for understaffing

Paige PflegerWPLN News
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The private prison company CoreCivic operates four prisons in Tennessee, a service for which the state pays over $200 million a year. But the government can withhold some of that money if CoreCivic violates Tennessee standards for prison operation.

More: US Justice Department investigating ‘endemic’ violence at Tennessee for-profit prison

In a state Senate committee hearing on Wednesday, Department of Correction Inspector General Kim Gulden said the state has clawed back a significant amount of its payments to CoreCivic over the last few years. 

“Dating back to 2022, we have assessed a total of, (including) some pending amounts, $29,597,146.08,” she said.

The company’s biggest contract violation is severe understaffing. The federal Department of Justice is investigating Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility, a CoreCivic prison in Hartsville where three staff members were attacked and injured by a prisoner earlier this week. The DOJ says it is one of the most understaffed prisons in the country. It also has a higher homicide rate than any other U.S. prison.

Even though the state Department of Correction has repeatedly fined CoreCivic, the state legislature increased payments to the company this year by $7 million. 

Char Daston

Char Daston is a reporter and newscast writer for WPLN. Char got his start in public radio as an intern at WYSO public radio in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he answered questions sent in by listeners for a program called WYSO Curious. He went on to work at St. Louis Public Radio and WBEZ Chicago, where he produced the daily talk show Reset and reported for the education desk. His work has also appeared in Curious City, Chicago Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Char attended college and grad school at the University of Chicago, where he wrote his master’s thesis on the politics of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. As a journalist, he is interested in the ways big political decisions and historical events shape our everyday lives. He loves to learn about education, the arts, activism and the ways people help one another. Unable to settle on one creative project, Char enjoys writing poetry, plays and video essays in his spare time. You’ll likely find him rushing to choir rehearsal or seeking out Nashville’s best Thai and Korean food.

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