Riot reignites scrutiny at one of largest prisons in Tennessee
A riot erupted at one of Tennessee's largest prisons late Sunday, injuring a guard and reigniting calls for an overhaul of prison leadership.
Why it matters: This marks the latest example of violent conditions at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, which is overseen by the publicly traded company CoreCivic. Critics, including state lawmakers and local district attorney, say conditions are perilous for staff and inmates.
State of play: The riot began late Sunday and lasted for hours, according to law enforcement. A "large group of inmates from several housing units" got out of their cells and got into part of the prison yard, according to a CoreCivic spokesperson.
The inmates tried to destroy security cameras, started fires and tried to damage other property. They attacked one guard, who was treated and released at an area hospital, the spokesperson said. Three inmates were treated for injuries.
Prison staff used tear gas to quell the conflict and regain control. All inmates remained on prison grounds during the riot.
The Tennessee Department of Correction is investigating.
The big picture: Violence at Trousdale Turner is well documented. It is the subject of several wrongful death lawsuits and an ongoing Department of Justice investigation.
Understaffing and mismanagement have been noted in state audits.
Yes, but: Heightened scrutiny has done little to address the problem.
Zoom out: The state has contracted with the Brentwood-based CoreCivic to manage operations at Trousdale Turner since the prison opened in 2016.
The state has doled out millions of dollars in penalties against CoreCivic amid understaffing and other problems.
What they're saying: High-profile critics responding to the riot said the state should take over operations at Trousdale Turner.
Trousdale County District Attorney Jason Lawson said a new charge related to criminal conduct at the prison emerges every four days.
" The continual problems demonstrate that CoreCivic is unable to address the issues," Lawson said in a statement.
"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. I am confident that Commissioner Strada and the Tennessee Department of Correction could manage this situation far better than what is being done by CoreCivic."
State Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) said keeping CoreCivic in charge is "profoundly unfair to the sheriff of Trousdale County, to the employees working in that dangerous environment, and certainly to the people incarcerated there."
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Jesse James and his brother, Frank, along with six other members of their gang, attempted a bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota on Sept. 7, 1876. It was a messy affair, with four men killed during the ensuing gun battle, including two members of the gang. It was a lot of blood spilled for a total take of about $25 in nickels. Now on the run, the group split up a few days later but still managed to evade capture. Trying to make their way back to their home state of Missouri, the brothers made stops near Luverne, Minnesota on Sept. 17 of that year and entered what was then Dakota Territory about five miles north of Valley Springs later that evening, a timeline that suggests the James brothers were never near Devil's Gulch. "It's known they were 12 miles north of present-day Luverne in the evening. They were in Dakota Territory, (but) in all likelihood they traveled as fast and steadily as they could over that ground, and they would have missed it altogether," Fanebust said. 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But there are a few facets of local lore that do add some credence to the tale. "Maybe it's just a tall tale that got told," Moritz said. "But we do have documentation from local farmsteads that Jesse stayed at their place. Or that he stole a horse from their farmstead, or what have you. So there is known evidence that he and his brother were around here. But as for outrunning the posse and jumping the gulch? Who knows." There are other angles that could support the theory. Moritz noted that over the course of 150 years the landscape of the gulch has changed. Erosion has likely widened the gap to its present width, meaning that if James did jump the gulch all those years ago, it was likely not as wide a jump as it appears today. She also said the land where Devil's Gulch rests, which is owned by the Wiese family and leased to the city for public use, was not always densely packed with trees. 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Fanebust said the uncertainty of exactly what happened is part of the appeal of the story, and the myth is not likely to die out. The story serves to spur interest among the public on the Wild West and its expansive mythology, and he said interest in the topic can lead to the study of other historical stories that are just as interesting but can also be proven to be true. Believing the Devil's Gulch legend may require a leap of faith, but Fanebust said the event will likely continue on long into the future. And there's nothing wrong with that, he said. "It is a legend with a long life, and it is an integral part of the story of the great escape by the James brothers," Fanebust wrote in a summary of the events. "There is no point in trying to drive a stake through it, because it can't be killed. Somewhere out there someone might find an answer, a rational explanation for an issue that seems to be pleading for closure. But then again, maybe not. Maybe, just maybe, the romance of history has a legitimate place in this outlaw narrative alongside plain, dull facts."
