Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility is facing escalating crises,prompting District Attorney Jason Lawson to address lawmakers with urgent concerns. Lawson details a cycle of violence fueled by inmates with lengthy sentences and a history of serious offenses, contributing to safety issues and chronic understaffing at the prison. His testimony highlights potential solutions – including prioritizing inmates with shorter sentences – as Tennessee grapples with the challenges within it’s Trousdale Correctional Facility and the broader implications of private prison management.
TROUSDALE TROUBLES: District Attorney Jason Lawson spoke to a legislative committee Wednesday about what he sees as the causes and potential solutions to chronic problems at CoreCivic’s Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility. Lawson, whose judicial district includes Trousdale County, where the prison is located, told the State and Local Government Corrections Subcommittee that his office has brought criminal charges against 201 people at the prison since he took office in 2021 — 169 inmates, 23 employees and nine visitors. Of those 169 inmates, he said, 114 were already serving a prison sentence for a homicide, robbery or kidnapping. Based on those figures, Lawson said he thinks reducing the number of people at the prison for a violent offense would be his first recommendation. He said those types of inmates — who have a violent history and are serving sentences long enough that they may feel they have nothing to lose — fuel the crime problem at Trousdale, which fuels the safety problem, which fuels the understaffing problems, which in turn contribute further to crime and safety problems. Recently, he said that CoreCivic has increased starting salaries for correctional officers at the prison. The Tennessee Department of Correction has also begun sending only older inmates or those with four years or less remaining on their sentence there. Last year, the legislature passed a bill requiring any privately run prison to reduce its population by 10 percent if the death rate there is twice that of an equivalent state-run facility. — Steven Hale
TRICKLE, TRICKLE: With one day left in early voting in the primaries for the 7th District congressional seat vacated by Mark Green, almost 7,000 Davidson County residents have cast their ballots. According to the Davidson County Election Commission, 6,860 votes have been cast representing 5.9 percent of active registered voters. Just over 40 percent of the county’s turnout has been at the Bordeaux Library branch, which has posted the most votes of any of the six early voting sites on a daily basis. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. Thursday at Bellevue Library, Bordeaux Library, Hillwood High School, Lentz Public Health Center, Madison Library and the Metro Office Building downtown. Election Day is next Tuesday. — Steve Cavendish
QUILTING FOR A CAUSE: Women Building Peace and We Choose Welcome hosted a quilting and collective action event Tuesday night in support of immigrant and refugee communities. During the event, participants wrote letters to state legislators on quilt squares, ate food catered by immigrant and refugee-owned businesses in Nashville and listened to performances by local artists. From midnight to 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, a group of women sewed the quilt pieces together, creating protest quilts to send to legislators. The nationwide movement, titled “Peace by Piece,” began in Utah in May 2025. Soon after, women from across the country followed. Tennessee is the latest state to join the initiative. — Eden Turner
TROPHY TIME: Nashville SC earned its first trophy Wednesday with a 2-1 victory over Austin FC in the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship. Sam Surridge scored the decisive goal on a second-half penalty kick and finished as the tournament’s leader in goals with six. Nashville also got a goal from Hany Mukhtar, and goalie Brian Schwake stopped a first-half penalty kick. “People always remember the first ones to do something,” Surridge said before the contest. “To think about how, 50 years from now, people will look to see the names of the guys who won that first trophy, it really means something.” The U.S. Open Cup is a national tournament open to teams from the amateur ranks up to the highest level of American professional soccer. This year’s field included 92 teams and ended with two of MLS’ youngest franchises. Nashville joined the league in 2020, and Austin followed a year later. — David Boclair
