Local prosecutors are "drowning" in prison crime cases committed inside Tennessee's largest prison, a district attorney general testified Oct. 1. His office has prosecuted more than 204 prison offenses since 2021, despite insufficient resources and policies that prevent evidence gathering.

Trousdale Turner Correctional Center is Tennessee’s largest state prison, operated by for-profit, publicly traded private prison operator CoreCivic. The long-troubled facility is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice .

“I’m praying that, whether it’s CoreCivic or the Department of Corrections, someone gets a handle on these problems that we’re having,” District Attorney General Jason Lawson, whose district includes Trousdale County, told a Senate oversight panel on Oct. 1.

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