The June 2024 session of the Trousdale County Grand Jury indicted 29 defendants for cases occurring at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center. Of the 29 people indicted, 25 offenders were in possession of contraband inside of the prison, consisting of drugs, weapons, or cellular telephones. Of the same 29 offenders, 12 were indicted for the crime of aggravated assault with a weapon and 1 additional defendant was indicted for assault without a weapon. There were 7 offenders charged with drug possession, 1 with a sexual offense, and 5 with official misconduct charges.
“It is important in understanding the numbers to realize that if an inmate assaults another inmate with a weapon, the offending inmate would be charged with both aggravated assault as well as contraband in the prison for the possession of the weapon,” said Jason Lawson, District Attorney. “As another example, if a defendant is caught with drugs, he would be charged with both the drug offense as well as contraband in the prison for possession of the drugs. So in realizing that some offenders receive more that one criminal offense, it is easy to understand why a total of 29 offenders might receive many more overall charges.”
Lawson also noted that not all of the people charged were inmates of the prison. “While a large number are inmates, the Grand Jury also indicted people who were on the outside of the prison and helped smuggle the drugs into the prison. If a person is an employee of the prison, they would be charged with official misconduct, while if the person is an inmate’s girlfriend, wife or relative who sent or brought the drugs into the prison either through the mail or visitation, that girlfriend, wife or relative would be arrested and charged with introduction of contraband into the prison,” said Lawson.
“If there is one message to be taken away, it is that those who assist in smuggling drugs into the prison are likely to find themselves joining their loved one on the inside. Drug contraband is an important issue that costs a lot of people their lives, and both TDOC and the DA’s office are going to prosecute these cases,” said Lawson.
Lawson credited the Department of Corrections creation of a Contraband Interdiction Unit with investigating and presenting a number of the offenses leading to charges. “While there are some charges such as an assault that produce an instant investigation and lead to charges, other charges such as drugs and contraband are not always obvious to the prison staff. I commend Commissioner Strada and his department with the creation of the Contraband Interdiction Unit to work these cases and attempt to lessen the amount of drugs in our prisons,” said Lawson.
Lawson said that contraband and drug enforcement is critical to the success of the prison in safekeeping the prisoners sentenced there. “While there are occasional deaths from natural causes, and occasional deaths from homicides, many of the deaths at the prison are drug overdoses. Combating the drug smuggling problem is the key factor in addressing deaths at the prison.”
