Thomas W. Beasley (born 1943) is an American lawyer, political activist and businessman based in Tennessee. He was chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party from 1977 to 1981.
In 1983, he was a co-founder of CoreCivic, formerly Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), a private prison management company. He was its president and chief executive officer from 1983 to 1987, and its chairman from 1987 to 1994. As of 2015, it has become the largest prison management company in the United States.
Early life
Thomas W. Beasley was born on January 8, 1943, on a farm owned by his family from the late 1790s in Smith County, Tennessee.[1][2]
He was educated at the Smith County High School in Carthage, Tennessee.[1] He graduated from the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York in 1966.[1]