Tennessee's legislators, who receive donations from private prison operator CoreCivic, have been implementing stringent crime policies over the last three years. Despite criticisms that earning profits from inmates' incarceration is unethical, these policies may benefit the company, Tennessee Lookout reports. Moves to create laws that require teenagers to be tried as adults for certain crimes and remove rewards for prisoners’ good behavior are likely to lead to higher incarceration rates, critics say. The changes are expected to put CoreCivic, a national prison operator, in a better position to continue to exploit a little-known state loophole that allows it to run four Tennessee prisons. The company contracts with Tennessee to run one of its prisons and has deals with two local governments to operate three other prisons. The agreement has allowed CoreCivic to make $233 million last year from its Tennessee prison contracts. In 2023, CoreCivic generated about $1.9 billion in revenue through state and federal contracts, though it recently lost a deal in Texas to run an immigrant holding facility there.
Privately-operated prisons have sparked debate in Tennessee since the mid-1980s. State legislation limited contracts to just one with the Corrections Corporation of America, CoreCivic's previous name, since 2016, which secured its initial Tennessee contract with bipartisan legislative support. The department received approval from lawmakers last year to increase payments to CoreCivic with the stamp of approval from Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada, who is satisfied with the company’s efforts to improve their policies and operations. The state boosted its payout to CoreCivic by $7 million despite an audit that showed persistent personnel shortages, the second weak report the firm received from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office in recent years. The prison company sustained a 146% turnover rate in 2023 because of difficulty hiring correctional officers, making it harder to monitor prisoners and avert safety risks. Lawmakers approved the increase even though CoreCivic paid $20 million in liquidated damages in recent years for failing to meet contract requirements. State Rep. G.A. Hardaway of Memphis has long opposed CoreCivic's arrangements and argues that "justice" should be publicly funded and managed.
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