State, local leaders call on Tennessee to take over Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility following riot
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Some state and local leaders are pushing for Tennessee to take control of the Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility, currently managed by the private company, CoreCivic, following a riot where inmates held correctional officers hostage, set fires, and tried to destroy surveillance cameras, according to officials.
Trousdale County Sheriff Ray Russell told News 2 the call about the riot came down around 10 p.m. Sunday, after an individual inside the prison contacted 911. An estimated few hundred inmates were able to break out of their cells, take over the control room, go out to the prison yard, start trash fires, and hold three correctional officers hostage.
Multiple staff members were sent to the hospital, including one who was stripped of his clothing during the riot. They have all since been released.
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Sheriff Russell said multiple agencies responded and set up a perimeter to ensure no inmate escaped.
'Well, you always think the worst, and when I got here, I went into the main building with the warden and some more staff and was able to watch everything on the monitors, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. It could've been a lot worse,' Sheriff Russell said.
However, some fear it may be worse next time if the state doesn't take control of the facility, currently managed by CoreCivic.
News 2 has previously reported on the Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility's history of problems. Last August, the Department of Justice announced it had launched an investigation into allegations of physical and sexual abuse, deaths, and chronic staffing shortages at the facility.
Following the riot, Jason Lawson, the district attorney for the 15th Judicial District, called on the state to take over the prison, saying a shift in management is 'long overdue.'
All inmates accounted for after uprising at Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility in Hartsville
'Since I became district attorney in 2021, we've had continual problems with Trousdale Turner Correctional Complex,' Lawson said. 'CoreCivic has been the original manager of this facility since it opened. There have been continual promises that there is going to be less crime, less death rates, less riots, less situations that we have like this, and yet we continually see that it seems like the problems are not decreasing but actually increasing. Last night I think was an example of what has been going on at Trousdale Turner and what, unfortunately, I fear may be in the future for Trousdale Turner.'
Democratic Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) shared similar sentiments.
'Inevitably, the issue is that privatizing prisons does not work, and CoreCivic is operating for profits. Their motive is not to solve issues but to make money,' Sen. Campbell said.
Sen. Campbell told News 2 the push against the privatization of prisons isn't about being opposed to police or criminal justice, but about creating safe and livable conditions for both the inmates and staff.
However, because of the federal government's push to house ICE detainees in CoreCivic prisons, Sen. Campbell doesn't think much will change.
'It's probably going to go in the other direction, and that's really unfortunate because we've had people die at Trousdale,' Sen. Campbell said. 'The living conditions are absolutely horrific, and we have to do something about this because it's a public health emergency.'
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House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) issued the following statement to News 2:
'Every day, corrections officers and staff carry out the difficult work of keeping our communities safe from dangerous individuals. The criminals responsible for the violence at Trousdale will face the full force of the law, and justice will be delivered swiftly. I have full confidence that Commissioner Strada and the TDOC will take all necessary corrective measures to ensure incidents like this never happen again.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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