State set to extend CoreCivic contract despite prison deaths
Published by the Tennessee Lookout, Reporter Sam Stockard – May 31, 2023
Tennessee plans to extend a private prison company’s contract with an $8 million raise annually to run a state penitentiary in spite of lawsuits alleging it caused inmate deaths.
The pay increase also could come in spite of $17.74 million in state fines levied against CoreCivic since September 2020 for operation shortcomings.
The State Building Commission is scheduled to consider a request from the Department of Correction Wednesday adding two years to CoreCivic’s three-year contract at South Central Correctional Facility in Clifton and increasing the total payout to $212.9 million from $118.18 million.
That marks a $94.8 million increase to cover operating costs for two more years and a shift to monthly payments from payments per inmate each day, equalling $47.4 million annually compared to $39.4 million annually under the initial contract. The extended contract will run out June 30, 2025 if approved.
