Since it opened a little more than a year ago, Tennessee's newest and largest prison has been a mess.
Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville, run by the private prison operator formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America, was forced to stop accepting new inmates after just four months of operation. Staffing shortages had created a situation where, according to a memo obtained by the Associated Press, "the guards were not in control of the housing units, were not counting inmates correctly and were putting inmates in solitary confinement for no documented reason."
More recently, while rolling out the company's rebranding from CCA to CoreCivic, CEO Damon Hininger told The Tennessean, "we've got work to do, clearly we've got work to do." And new allegations about conditions at the facility shed more light on what company spokesmen have characterized as "growing pains."
A lawsuit filed last month in federal court on behalf of four inmates at the facility claims that understaffing there has led to insufficient care for some 60 inmates who have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. The plaintiffs are seeking to bring a class action, representing all such inmates who "who are, who have been, or who in the future may become, housed at Trousdale Turner correctional facility."
"As a result of CCA's policy and practice of understaffing, Defendant CCA is often unable to provide persons with insulin-dependent diabetes with access to basic diabetes care, including blood sugar checks and insulin administration coordinated with regular mealtimes," the complaint reads.
The suit names CoreCivic, the Tennessee Department of Correction and TDOC Commissioner Tony Parker as defendants.
In addition to corrections officers who are inadequately trained, the suit alleges that the medical staff at Trousdale — which has a capacity of 2552 inmates — consists of four nurses and two nurse practitioners, with no nutritionist and no medical doctor on staff following the resignation of a doctor who hasn't been replaced.
One of the plaintiffs, Tazarius Leach, states in the complaint that he has "been having problems getting Insulin" and some days doesn't "receive Insulin at all or on time.” Another plaintiff, Richard Little, says he's "been denied my diabetes shot and mental health medications so many times that I stopped counting."
Douglas Dobson, a third plaintiff, claims that for a few days last February "all the diabetics went without any Insulin."
The suit also contains allegations about the frequent use of lockdowns to handle issues caused by understaffing at the facility.
"Inmates have been on lockdown numerous times since the opening of the Trousdale Turner facility in January, 2016, sometimes being required to remain in their cells for three weeks or more without access to showers or exercise facilities," the complaint reads.
TDOC spokeswoman Alison Randgaard referred the Scene to CoreCivic, but added that “While it is not appropriate for the department to comment on pending litigation it is important to note that TDOC is committed to offering the community standard of care to all inmates.”
CoreCivic spokesman Jonathan Burns says the company "can't speak to the specifics of pending legislation" but "is committed to providing high-quality healthcare to those entrusted to our care, and it is our policy and practice to maintain appropriate levels of staffing in our facilities."
TDOC filed their response to the complaint yesterday, largely declining to respond to the allegations in the suit because the allegations are aimed at CoreCivic. The TDOC filing does deny, however, that all of the named plaintiffs are currently housed at Trousdale.
In a filing earlier this week, CoreCivic requested more time to prepare their response to the complaint.
The company operates eight state or local facilities in Tennessee.
Stephen Elliott contributed to this report.
