Terry Deshawn Childress
Terry Deshawn Childress, 37, died in February 2021 at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, a private prison in Trousdale County, Tennessee. His sister, Elizabeth Hudson, remembers him as a young man who loved football and music and doted on his younger siblings, nieces and nephews, and she says the family always called on him for help. State agents found him unresponsive and pronounced him dead on February 24, 2021, and opened a homicide investigation, while a federal lawsuit says he was beaten to death by his cellmate and that no guards came to his aid at the understaffed facility. His family, who say they still do not know who killed him or why, received a $135,000 settlement and have struggled to get information from the facility.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (neglect alleged). A federal lawsuit says his cellmate beat him to death and that no guards came to his aid at the understaffed facility; state agents suspected he was killed and opened a homicide investigation.
Reported by: State agents (outside investigators); federal lawsuit; his family.
Lawsuit: His family sued in federal court over his death at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center and received a $135,000 settlement.