TDOC seeks a $13M CoreCivic budget boost this year

Vivian Jones

Nashville Tennessean

USA TODAY NETWORK – TENNESSEE

Tennessee’s Department of Correction is asking Gov. Bill Lee to give the state’s private prison operator CoreCivic a $13 million pay boost this year, despite having fined the publicly traded company more than $44 million over the last three years for chronic contract violations.

TDOC Commissioner Frank Strada presented his agency’s $1.66 billion budget request, including $86 million in new funding requests, to Lee at the State Capitol on Nov. 4.

CoreCivic’s pay bump is nearly twice the $6.8 million boost lawmakers approved last year. CoreCivic runs four state prisons, including the state’s largest, Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, which is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. CoreCivic’s political action committee is one of the state’s biggest political spenders. Tennessee’s state treasury also invests in CoreCivic stock.

Why TDOC fined CoreCivic $44M

TDOC has fined CoreCivic more than $44 million in the last three years for violating its contract with the state. Liquidated damages reports from Trousdale detail how staff positions were left vacant for years, inmates were improperly put in solitary confinement, medical care visits were skipped and staff failed to account for ammunition in the facility for days at a time.

Chronic understaffing has led to significant security failures, including prisoner assaults, overdoses and families forced to pay extortion payments in hopes of keeping their loved ones safe from gangs. Inmates rioted in early June at Trousdale, even holding several guards hostage. Former inmates, guards and families have brought lawsuits, testified in legislative hearings, and spoken publicly about how short staffing at Trousdale has led to prisoner injuries and deaths.

Trousdale District Attorney pleaded with lawmakers last month to equip law enforcement to better prosecute in-prison crimes. His office has prosecuted 204 prison crimes at Trousdale alone since 2021, including 26 CoreCivic employees.

Chronic reports of violence and crime at CoreCivic facilities was not discussed during the budget presentation on Nov. 4.

Strada is also requesting additional TDOC funding to deploy drones along prison perimeters, aiming to curb the flow of contraband. He explained that staff-operated drones would offer more consistent surveillance than human guards, who may be unavailable due to illness or time off.

'We’ve been getting a lot of drone drops in our institutions of cell phones and drugs etc.,' Strada told Lee on Nov. 4. 'Drone drops and cell phones have been the two biggest issues in corrections not only in Tennessee but all over the country.'

Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com .