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Committee advances bill to shift inmates from private prisons after higher death rates
Summary
The State and Local Government Committee endorsed Senate Bill 1115, which would require the state to reduce or remove inmates from private prison facilities whose inmate death rates exceed twice the state average; sponsors and family members of deceased inmates urged action after testimony about Trousdale/Turner facility problems.
The State and Local Government Committee on May 20 advanced Senate Bill 11 15, sponsored by Sen. Poli Pote, after testimony from families of inmates and questions from senators about reporting and capacity.
Sen. Poli Pote, the bill's sponsor, told the committee the measure would require the state to begin reducing the population of any private prison whose death rate is more than twice the average of state-run facilities; the reductions would be carried out by moving inmates into state-operated prisons until the facility's performance improved. "So we would actually start taking prisoners away from that prison and put them into state run prisons," Pote said during discussion.
The bill drew lengthy public testimony from Tim Leeper, whose 25-year-old son died in a CoreCivic-run facility at Trousdale Turner. Leeper described chronic understaffing, long delays for medical care after a stabbing, and what he said were multiple fentanyl overdoses at the facility. "CoreCivic cannot be trusted to keep inmates alive," Leeper said, describing what he called systemic problems and alleging staff involvement in drug trafficking based on a private-investigator review his family commissioned.
Committee members asked detailed questions about the accuracy and timeliness of death reporting and how the department would implement population reductions. Deputy Commissioner Richard Muckle of the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) described bed capacity and invoicing: TDOC contracts for roughly 7,500 beds in contract facilities and an application of the bill to all contract sites could reduce beds by roughly 750; he also explained that contract invoicing is per diem and reductions would reduce monthly invoices accordingly.
Lawmakers acknowledged federal and local investigations at Troublesdale/Turner and said district attorneys and federal investigators were engaged; committee members expressed sympathy and concern while pressing for clear reporting and faster information flows from TDOC staff. Several senators described prior oversight meetings and said the committee had requested and received information directly from the commissioner when staff channels were slower.
After debate the committee voted to send SB 11 15 to the calendar. The clerk recorded the committee result as passed (vote reported in committee as 9 ayes).
The measure will now move to the full calendar; further debate and any amendments will take place there.
