Prison operator under federal scrutiny spent millions settling Tennessee mistreatment claims

The leading private prison company in the U.S. has spent more than $4.4 million to settle dozens of complaints alleging mistreatment at its Tennessee prisons and jails since 2016. More than $1.1 million of those payouts involved the state’s largest prison, the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, which is now under federal investigation. Details of nearly 80 settlements provided to The Associated Press through public records requests allege brutal beatings, medical neglect and cruelty at CoreCivic’s four prisons and two jails in Tennessee. Surviving inmates or grieving families often fight for years to reach settlements with the company, which has a net worth of $1.44 billion.