Through public records, an AP team uncovers hidden details about settlements related to private Tennessee lockups.
For years, Nashville-based journalists Travis Loller and Jonathan Mattise have been covering legal troubles and complaints about inmate treatment by CoreCivic, the Tennessee-headquartered private prison operator. When the U.S. Department of Justice announced in August the opening of a civil rights investigation into one of those prisons in Tennessee, they were already gathering previously unreported data revealing more details about CoreCivic inmate deaths and abuse.
About eight months before the DOJ announcement, Mattise started using public records requests to reveal hidden details about millions spent to settle litigation filed by inmates and their families for mistreatment, physical and sexual abuse, neglect and cruelty. Together with Loller and Mid-South chief video journalist Kristin Hall, they created a spreadsheet of nearly 80 lawsuits and tracked down court records online and by phone to reveal settlements that had been kept hidden due to confidentiality agreements. Some of the largest were settled without any lawsuit or prior publicity.
The story centered on the impact on inmates and their families, with the reporters talking to longtime sources to build a narrative around people who spent years in litigation to receive settlements, half of which were $12,500 or less.
Photojournalist George Walker IV captured new images of the Tennessee prison under DOJ scrutiny. Hall and Erik Verduzco teamed up to capture emotional video testimonials of people who are asking for accountability.
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