DOJ investigates Tennessee's largest prison

Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville, Tenn.

(Image credit: Mark Humphrey / AP Photo)

published 21 August 2024

What happened

The Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation of conditions at Tennessee's privately run Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, the state's largest prison. The investigation will explore whether the facility has "systemic constitutional violations regarding the treatment of people," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke.

Trousdale, run by prison operator CoreCivic, recorded "at least 196 assaults, 90 incidents of sexual misconduct, two murders and 15 other deaths" between July 2022 and July 2023, The Associated Press said. A "single three-week period in early 2024" saw at least five stabbings. Several state audits of CoreCivic, "and Trousdale particularly," have found continuous contract violations and "skyrocketing turnover rates," resulting in "millions of dollars" in fines, The Tennessean said. But Tennessee "continues to renew its contract."

Inmates "do not surrender their constitutional rights at the prison door," Clarke said. And "private prisons are not above the law."

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.