(NewsNation) — “Chrisley Knows Best” was one of the most-watched shows on cable TV for a decade, but the family empire crumbled when Todd and Julie Chrisley were convicted of bank and tax fraud.
The two were sent to prison, and now, Todd Chrisley is sounding the alarm about the conditions in a Florida prison, warning they are dangerous, especially for elderly prisoners.
Todd Chrisley said he feels he’s been treated unfairly and has a target on his back.
His daughter, Savannah Chrisley, has been vocal about trying to improve these conditions while also trying to prove her parents are innocent.
There was a victory for the family last month when oral arguments were granted in the couple’s appeal.
Savannah Chrisley said she feels her family was treated unfairly and made an example of.
“I know that will cause a lot of ruffled feathers,” she said. “People will look at us and think, ‘Why should we feel bad for you? Look at the life you lived.'”
But there’s more to it than the image the Chrisleys portrayed on TV, she said.
“It’s been quite the ride,” Savannah Chrisley said.
She has received numerous messages and blackmail threats from the prison. Some messages she received included details about her father being beaten in the shower or the emergency room. Another message was from a prison guard blackmailing with a photo of her father sleeping, demanding $2,600 per month to guarantee his safety.
“It goes on and on and on,” she said.
Savannah Chrisley also explained how her father isn’t allowed to do the things that other inmates are allowed to do, including going to certain parts of the correctional campus.
Physical conditions at her mother’s prison aren’t respectable either. Savannah Chrisley explained that bugs are crawling all over the walls, the bathroom floors are always flooded and the drinking water isn’t clean. She said one of the correctional officers tested the drinking water and found it contaminated with drugs.
Plus, the food that is being served to prisoners is a year past expiration, she said.
“It just never stops,” Savannah Chrisley said.
While she knows that prisons aren’t supposed to be glamorous, Savannah Chrisley said prisoners should at least receive the bare necessities such as clean water and non-expired food.
However, Savannah Chrisley said she believes God has put them in this place because she had no idea what condition incarcerated men and women lived in.
“I was tone deaf to the system,” she said. “God has put us in this place now to where we know better, we do better, and now, I can be a voice for over two million people that are incarcerated today.”