It’ll soon be a year since former reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley were sentenced to years in prison after being found guilty of bank fraud, tax evasion and more. In that time, the couple hasn’t been able to speak for themselves, and others have stepped up to do that for them. Their daughter, Savannah, has been particularly vocal about their legal entanglements and has specifically made various allegations regarding their living conditions in prison. As a whole, she’s been critical of the prison system and its handling of her folks’ incarceration. Now, Savannah is making even more claims and, this time, she alleges that her sentiments have impacted the couple’s tenures in their facilities.
According to 26-year-old Savannah Chrisley, her parents are currently facing “retaliation” due to the way she’s spoken out about the prisons they currently reside in. Though she says both of the Chrisley Knows Best alums are feeling the effects, she asserts that her father is feeling the brunt of the supposed blowback. Her comments paint a picture of a less-than-ideal situation:
It's been really tough [for them] since I started speaking out about everything. That's been the toughest part. More so for Dad. There's been a lot of retaliation, so we have to worry [about him]. Right now they're trying to move him from the facility he's at now, because of the latest things that I've posted on Instagram. And that's the tough part -- the moment you start speaking out, you have to pay for it.
The podcaster went on to allege that one of the amenities that Todd Chrisley is currently being denied is access to his lawyer. Per Savannah, those correspondences are “non-recorded” phone calls that allow a client and their attorney to speak about whatever is happening. In addition, the young woman also believes the guards are planning to wipe out the commissary account her father has. As for Julie, Savannah tells ET the situation isn’t as dire, though she emphasizes that the matriach still isn’t experiencing adequate care:
However, her living conditions are terrible. And some of the male guards, they definitely speak down on the women [in jail]. They make them feel like garbage.
Savannah Chrisley first started speaking out earlier this year shortly before Todd and Julie – who are at Pensacola’s Federal Prison Camp and Federal Medical Center Lexington, respectively – reported. She claimed her mother had no access to air conditioning despite the fact that “there are service dogs for the prison that are in a heated and cooled building.” During a later conversation with her brother, Chase on her Unlocked podcast, Savannah said her Todd also had no AC and that Julie was facing down snakes in her cell. The Prison Bureau responded to the allegations multiple times and, although officials didn’t release specific details on the two locations, it claimed that conditions were satisfactory. Though Savannah says her messages are still contributing to her parents’ poor living spaces, her dad apparently doesn’t want her to back down:
He and I have had the discussion [and] his exact words were, 'If I have to be uncomfortable in order to hopefully implement and force change, then I'm willing to do it.'
Julie and Todd Chrisley were originally sentenced to 12 and 7 years and prison, respectively, but their sentences were reduced months ago. Shortly after, their lawyer said it’s possible they could get more time shaved off should new legal provisions go into effect. Savannah, all the while, is still hoping that their sentences will be overturned entirely. And based on these recent comments, she’s going to continue to advocate for them no matter the cost.
