Tennessee prison riot contained after several hours; 3 inmates and 1
guard injured
[June 10, 2025]
By JONATHAN MATTISE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Inmates at a Tennessee prison sought to destroy
property, compromised security cameras and set a few fires during a riot
that took several hours to contain and caused minor injuries to three
inmates and one guard, the facility's private operator said.
On Sunday evening, a large group of inmates at Trousdale Turner
Correctional Center from several housing units left their cells and
accessed an inner yard, becoming “disruptive and confrontational” and
refusing to follow the staff's directions, according to CoreCivic
spokesperson Ryan Gustin. The prison in Hartsville, about 50 miles (80
kilometers) northeast of Nashville, is the subject of an ongoing U.S.
Department of Justice investigation.
One correctional officer was assaulted and released from the hospital.
Three inmates were being treated for minor injuries, Gustin said.
The prison's staff used chemical agents on the inmates, who were secured
by early Monday morning. They did not reach the perimeter and state
troopers and local law enforcement officers were positioned outside the
facility. There was no attempted escape from the facility, Gustin said.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol deployed about 75 troopers and the agency
remained on site overnight until “every prisoner had been accounted
for,” Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security spokesperson
Jason Pack said.
The prison remained on lockdown while CoreCivic and the Tennessee
Department of Correction investigate the riot, Gustin said.
Department of Correction spokesperson Dorinda Carter said in a statement
that “though a number of inmates were non-compliant with staff
instructions, this was not a hostage situation.”
The incident followed an assault by two Trousdale inmates Saturday that
injured a correctional officer who remains at the hospital, Gustin said.
Last August, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an investigation
into the Trousdale prison after years of “reports of physical assaults,
sexual assaults, murders and unchecked flow of contraband and severe
staffing shortages,” according to then-U.S. Attorney Henry Leventis. The
department confirmed Monday the investigation remains ongoing.
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Prison personnel march into the Trousdale Turner Correctional
Center, Monday, June 9, 2025, in Hartsville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George
Walker IV)
Tennessee’s corrections agency has fined CoreCivic $37.7 million
across four prisons since 2016, including for understaffing
violations. Records obtained by The Associated Press also show the
company has spent more than $4.4 million to settle about 80 lawsuits
and out-of-court complaints alleging mistreatment — including at
least 22 inmate deaths — at four Tennessee prisons and two jails
since 2016.
The state comptroller released scathing audits in 2017, 2020 and
2023.
The Brentwood, Tennessee-based company has defended itself by
pointing to industry-wide problems with hiring and keeping workers.
CoreCivic has said it offers hiring incentives and strategically
backfills with workers from other facilities nationally.
Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee's administration has stood by
CoreCivic.
However, the Republican-led Legislature this year showed its
concern by unanimously passing a bill that would move 10% of inmates
out of a private prison each time the annual death rate is twice as
high as a comparable state-run facility. Lee signed the legislation.
Department of Correction spokesperson Sarah Gallagher said the
agency is developing a procedure to calculate and report the death
rate for 2025 under the new law.
The legislation was spurred by the advocacy of Tim Leeper, a
roofing businessman who has attended the same local Rotary Club as
the two Republicans who ultimately sponsored the bill, Rep. Clark
Boyd and Sen. Mark Pody. Leeper's son Kylan was an inmate at
Trousdale when he died of a fentanyl overdose. His family has sued
CoreCivic over his death.
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