Twelve inmates at the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center (TTCC) received indictments from a grand jury for their alleged roles in a riot.
Earlier in June, a riot broke out at Tennessee’s largest prison. Three inmates and one prison guard obtained minor injuries. CoreCivic, the company that operates TTCC, said inmates wanted to damage property, tamper with security cameras, and set fires.
This riot started after some inmates refused to return to their cells, CoreCivic said.
According to Fox 17, on Monday, inmates, allegedly involved in the riots, were charged with Aggravated riot, Inciting a riot, Robbery, Aggravated assault, Aggravated kidnapping, Vandalism, and Contraband in a penal institution.
Trousdale County District Attorney General Jason Lawson said more indictments from this riot are coming, the outlet reported. Lawson noted the “indictments returned do include the key leadership group responsible for the riot.”
After the riot occurred, Lawson called on the Tennessee government to take control of TTCC. He said this incident highlighted the issues at the facility.
The district attorney stated Corecivic was “unable to address” TTCC’s issues.
“It is long-overdue that the State of Tennessee shifted the management of Trousdale Turner from CoreCivic into the direct hands of the Tennessee Department of Correction,” Lawson explained.
He added that he was “confident” in Commissioner Frank Strada and the Tennessee Department of Correction managing “this situation far better than what is being done by CoreCivic.
In 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an investigation into TTCC. The DOJ said its investigation would look into if TTCC protected its inmates from physical violence and sexual abuse.
“People are incarcerated at Trousdale Turner as punishment for their crimes, but in our legal system, punishment does not and cannot include violence and sexual abuse,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“The Justice Department is launching this comprehensive investigation to determine if there are systemic constitutional violations regarding the treatment of people in this privately-run correctional facility,” she added. “We are committed to protecting the constitutional rights of people held inside jails and prisons across our country.”
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at [email protected].
