Credit: Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock
Speaking out for the first time since he stepped into prison, Todd Chrisley – who was convicted for alleged bank fraud and tax evasion with wife Julie – said his fellow inmates are “literally starving.”
Todd’s family has been vocal against the Pensacola prison, and he’s allegedly being punished for it. The Chrisley Knows Best star claimed there are recordings of prison staffers, who indicated that Todd should be “humbled.”
Speaking to NewsNation by phone from within the prison, Todd addressed the alleged recordings.
“[The prison staffers said], ‘What we need to do is we need to put him in diesel therapy and put him in shackles and let him ride around the country for a time and then bring him back and that will humble him,’” said Todd, who’s serving a 12-year sentence. “‘He thinks he’s in one of his mansions that he’s used to living in, but this is the [expletive] BOP [Bureau of Prisons].’”
According to Todd, someone took a photo of him while he was asleep, sent it to Todd’s daughter and asked for $2,600 to maintain his protection behind bars.
Todd claimed he and his fellow inmates are facing terrible mistreatment: the men are given maybe 1,000 calories day, if that, and the rations are “disgustingly filthy.”
“They are literally starving these men to death here,” said Todd, who claimed that cats (some dead), squirrels and rats are found by food storage areas. As for his own meals, Todd purchases peanut butter and tuna from the commissary.
Officials from the prison claimed the facility’s conditions are livable, and the meals nutritious.
Todd’s daughter Savannah, 26, is now taking care of her 11-year-old niece and 17-year-old brother. She told the outlet she’s basically a “single parent now.”
“I’m trying to get two kids through school and health care and all these different things, so I know what it’s like to have to sit there and think, ‘Oh, shoot, how do I need to budget this month, how do I need to get through this month?’” said Savannah. “My life has completely changed.”
Her parents’ attorney Jay Surgent appealed the couple’s conviction and was granted a request concerning oral arguments.
“Our criminal justice system, I believe, has let them down,” said Surgent. “I think we’re going to be able to argue that effectively and correct an injustice that shouldn’t have existed to begin with.”
The attorney said the case had “serious and critical errors,” which included testimony in court from an IRS agent and a government witness.
“I know that God has a greater purpose. I know he’s got a greater plan, and I’m not going to let the federal government break my faith,” said Todd. “The prosecutor said that we were the southern version of the Trumps. I’m not going to have someone like him break my family. That’s what he wanted to do, but he’s not been able to do that.”
.@toddchrisley spoke to @BrianEntin about the conditions he’s facing in prison and says he’s being fed food “out of date by, at minimum, a year.” MORE: #Cuomo pic.twitter.com/GU2ZeTxqD0
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) December 9, 2023
