7/28/2023
Originally Published: 28 JUL 23 11:42 ET
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
(CNN) — Former reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley are enduring prison conditions their children describe as “inhumane.”
In the latest episode of her podcast “Unlocked w/ Savannah Chrisley,” Savannah Chrisley, 25, and her brother Chase Chrisley, 27, discussed how their parents are doing since they began their prison sentences.
The two were convicted last year of conspiracy to defraud banks out of more than $30 million in loans. The “Chrisley Knows Best” stars and their accountant, Peter Tarantino, were also convicted of several tax crimes.
Todd Chrisley is serving a 12-year sentence at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) in Pensacola, Florida, while Julie Chrisley was sentenced to seven years. She was sent to the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Lexington in Lexington, Kentucky.
Savannah noted that her brother had just visited their father and “you got to hear about the cluster of everything going on at his facility.”
“It’s a nightmare,” Chase said.
“Now they both have no air conditioning,” he continued. “They’re both in states where it gets to be 100+ degrees, and there’s no air conditioning.”
He also corrected his sister when she said “rattlesnakes just casually slithering on the floor in front of her” in reference to their mother’s imprisonment, with him saying that it was another type of poisonous snake.
Savannah then alleged that the facilities where her parents are serving their time has issues with asbestos, black mold and lead-based paint, though she seemed doubtful that the general public would care.
“I mean, Chase, it is prison so we’re not going to sit here and act like it should be the Four Seasons,” she said. “It’s prison, so people don’t have any sympathy for it.”
She also claimed that the facilities were hiding the problems when inspectors came since officials receive prior notification of such visits.
A spokesperson for the the Bureau of Prisons told CNN in a statement that they would not comment on “anecdotal allegations,” adding “for privacy, safety, and security reasons we do not comment on the conditions of confinement for any specific adult in custody (AIC) or group of AICs.”
“We can assure you all AICs have unlimited access to drinking water and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is monitoring the ventilation at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Pensacola and the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Lexington, as one of our highest priorities is the safety of BOP employees and AICs,” the statement read. “Every BOP facility, including FPC Pensacola and FMC Lexington, has contingency plans to address a large range of concerns or incidents, including ventilation temperatures, and is fully equipped and prepared to implement these plans as necessary.”
Their adult children, who were also featured on the show, have been sharing periodic updates about their parents’ lives behind bars since January.