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March 30, 2022

To our Stockholders:

We invite you to attend the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of CoreCivic, Inc. (the “Company”) to be held at 10:00 a.m., Central Time, on Thursday, May 12, 2022. This year’s Annual Meeting will be a virtual meeting of stockholders to be held over the internet via webcast at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CXW2022. The Company determined to host the Annual Meeting virtually due to the continuing public health impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and to support the health and well-being of our stockholders, employees and directors. We believe that the use of the internet to host the virtual Annual Meeting will enable us to communicate with our stockholders in an effective manner and allow for expanded stockholder attendance and participation.

An audio broadcast of the virtual Annual Meeting will also be available to stockholders by telephone at 1-877-328-2502 (toll-free) or 1-412-317-5419 (international). Please note that listening to the telephonic audio broadcast will not be deemed attending the virtual Annual Meeting, and you cannot vote or participate in the virtual Annual Meeting from such telephonic audio broadcast. You will be able to attend the virtual Annual Meeting and to vote and submit questions during the virtual Annual Meeting via a live webcast by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CXW2022 and entering the 16-digit control number included in your notice of internet availability of your proxy materials, your proxy card or voter instruction form. The live webcast of our virtual Annual Meeting provides our stockholders with rights and opportunities to vote and ask questions, which are substantially equivalent to in-person meetings of stockholders. Following the formal matters to be addressed at the virtual Annual Meeting, we will hold a question and answer session.

As in the past, prior to the virtual Annual Meeting you will be able to authorize a proxy to vote your shares on the matters submitted for stockholder approval at the virtual Annual Meeting by registering with and submitting certain information to www.proxyvote.com, and we encourage you to do so. The Notice of Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement, both of which accompany this letter, provide details regarding the business to be conducted at the meeting, as well as other important information about the Company.

Along with the other members of the Board of Directors and management, we encourage you to attend our virtual Annual Meeting via webcast.

The Annual Meeting of Stockholders of CoreCivic, Inc. (the “Annual Meeting”) will be held at 10:00 a.m., Central Time, on Thursday, May 12, 2022. This year’s Annual Meeting will be a virtual meeting of stockholders to be held over the internet via webcast at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CXW2022. The Company determined to host the Annual Meeting virtually due to the continuing public health impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and to support the health and well-being of our stockholders, employees and directors. We believe that the use of the internet to host the virtual Annual Meeting will enable us to communicate with our stockholders in an effective manner and allow for expanded stockholder attendance and participation. At the virtual Annual Meeting, stockholders will consider and act on the following items of business:

We are pleased to take advantage of Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rules that allow issuers to furnish proxy materials to their stockholders over the internet. We believe these rules allow us to provide our stockholders with the information they need in a timely and convenient manner, while lowering the costs of delivery and reducing the environmental impact of the virtual Annual Meeting. Our Proxy Statement and Annual Report to Stockholders (including our Letter to Stockholders and 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K) are available on our website at www.corecivic.com. Additionally, and in accordance with SEC rules, you may access our proxy materials at http://materials.proxyvote.com/21871N. You may request copies of the proxy materials, including our Proxy Statement, without charge by sending a written request to CoreCivic, Attention: Cameron Hopewell, Managing Director of Investor Relations, 5501 Virginia Way, Suite 110, Brentwood, TN 37027, or by calling Cameron Hopewell at (615) 263-3000.

Your vote is important. You may vote by internet or toll-free telephone. If you receive a copy of our Proxy Statement and proxy card by mail, you may vote by completing, signing and returning the proxy card in the accompanying postage-paid envelope. Please refer to the proxy card and the accompanying Proxy Statement for additional information regarding your voting options. Even if you plan to attend the virtual Annual Meeting via webcast, please take advantage of one of the advance voting options to ensure your shares are represented at the virtual Annual Meeting. You may revoke your proxy at any time before it is voted by following the procedures described in the accompanying Proxy Statement.

An audio broadcast of the virtual Annual Meeting will also be available to stockholders by telephone at 1-877-328-2502 (toll-free) or 1-412-317-5419 (international). Please note that listening to the telephonic audio broadcast will not be deemed attending the virtual Annual Meeting, and you cannot vote or participate in the virtual Annual Meeting from such telephonic audio broadcast. You will be able to attend

the virtual Annual Meeting and to vote and submit questions during the virtual Annual Meeting via a live webcast by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CXW2022 and entering the 16-digit control number included in your notice of internet availability of your proxy materials, your proxy card or voter instruction form. The live webcast of our virtual Annual Meeting provides our stockholders with rights and opportunities to vote and ask questions, which are substantially equivalent to in-person meetings of stockholders. Following the formal matters to be addressed at the virtual Annual Meeting, we will hold a question and answer session.

Stockholders of record at the close of business on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 are entitled to vote at the virtual Annual Meeting and any adjournments or postponements thereof.

March 30, 2022

Brentwood, TN

We are providing this Proxy Statement in connection with the solicitation by the Board of Directors (our “Board”) of CoreCivic, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company,” “CoreCivic,” “we” or “us”), of proxies to be voted at our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and any adjournments or postponements thereof (the “Annual Meeting”). This year’s Annual Meeting will be a virtual meeting of stockholders to be held over the internet via webcast at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CXW2022. The Company determined to host the Annual Meeting virtually due to the continuing public health impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and to support the health and well-being of our stockholders, employees and directors. We believe that the use of the internet to host the virtual Annual Meeting will enable us to communicate with our stockholders in an effective manner and allow for expanded stockholder attendance and participation.

On or about Wednesday, March 30, 2022, a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Notice”) will be mailed to our stockholders as of Wednesday, March 16, 2022, the record date, containing instructions on how to access this Proxy Statement, the Annual Report to Stockholders (including our Letter to Stockholders and 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K) and other proxy materials online, and how to vote. If you prefer to receive the proxy materials in the mail and to vote by mail, the Notice also contains instructions on how to request a printed copy. You will not receive printed copies of the proxy materials in the mail unless you specifically request them.

The virtual Annual Meeting will take place via webcast on Thursday, May 12, 2022, at 10:00 a.m., Central Time. An audio broadcast of the virtual Annual Meeting will also be available to stockholders by telephone at 1-877-328-2502 (toll-free) or 1-412-317-5419 (international). Please note that listening to the telephonic audio broadcast will not be deemed attending the virtual Annual Meeting, and you cannot vote or participate in the virtual Annual Meeting from such telephonic audio broadcast. You will be able to attend the virtual Annual Meeting and to vote and submit questions during the virtual Annual Meeting via a live webcast by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CXW2022 and entering the 16-digit control number included in your Notice, your proxy card or voter instruction form. The live webcast of our virtual Annual Meeting provides our stockholders with rights and opportunities to vote and ask questions, which are substantially equivalent to in-person meetings of stockholders. If you plan to attend the virtual Annual Meeting, you must be a stockholder as of Wednesday, March 16, 2022, the record date.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE

STOCKHOLDER MEETING TO BE HELD ON THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2022.

The Company’s Proxy Statement and Annual Report to Stockholders (including our Letter to Stockholders and 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K) are available on our website at www.corecivic.com. Additionally, and in accordance with SEC rules, you may access our proxy materials at http://materials.proxyvote.com/21871N.

Stockholders are asked to consider and vote on the following matters at the virtual Annual Meeting:

As of the date of this Proxy Statement, we are not aware of any other matters that will be presented for action at the virtual Annual Meeting.

Stockholders of record of our common stock at the close of business on the “record date” are entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the virtual Annual Meeting. Our Board has fixed the close of business on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, as the record date.

As of the record date, there were 121,369,554 shares of common stock outstanding and entitled to vote. Holders of common stock are entitled to one vote for each share of common stock held as of the record date on each matter to be voted on at the virtual Annual Meeting.

If you wish to attend the virtual Annual Meeting via webcast, you must be a stockholder as of Wednesday, March 16, 2022, the record date. If you are a stockholder of record, or if you hold a legal proxy for the virtual Annual Meeting provided by your bank, broker, or nominee, you may attend the virtual Annual Meeting via a live webcast by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CXW2022 and entering the 16-digit control number included in your Notice, your proxy card or voter instruction form. If you do not own your shares directly, but instead are the beneficial owner of shares held in “street name” by a broker, bank or other nominee and wish to attend the virtual Annual Meeting, you should follow the instructions on the voting instruction form or the Notice you receive from your bank, broker or other nominee.

In order to vote or submit a question during the virtual Annual Meeting, you will need to follow the instructions posted at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CXW2022, and will need to enter the 16-digit control number included in your Notice, your proxy card or voter instruction form. Broadridge Financial Services, Inc. is hosting our virtual Annual Meeting and, on the date of the virtual Annual Meeting, will be available to answer your questions regarding how to attend and participate in the virtual Annual Meeting. More information on technical support issues relating to access to, and participation in, the virtual Annual Meeting is provided under the heading What if during the virtual Annual Meeting I have technical

difficulties or trouble accessing the live webcast of the virtual Annual Meeting? If you do not own your shares directly, but instead are the beneficial owner of shares held in “street name” by a broker, bank or other nominee and wish to vote or submit a question during the virtual Annual Meeting, you should follow the instructions on the voting instruction form or the Notice you receive from your bank, broker or other nominee.

The virtual Annual Meeting platform is fully supported across browsers (Internet Explorer, Edge, Chrome, and Safari) and devices (including computers, tablets and cell phones) running the most updated version of applicable software. Participants should ensure that they have a reliable Wi-Fi connection whenever they intend to participate in the virtual Annual Meeting. Participants should allow time to log in and ensure that they can hear streaming audio prior to the start of the virtual Annual Meeting.

An audio broadcast of the virtual Annual Meeting will also be available to stockholders by telephone at 1-877-328-2502 (toll-free) or 1-412-317-5419 (international). Please note that listening to the telephonic audio broadcast will not be deemed attending the virtual Annual Meeting, and you cannot vote or participate in the virtual Annual Meeting from such telephonic audio broadcast.

Our Board recommends that you vote:

If you submit a signed proxy card or submit your proxy by telephone or internet and do not specify how you want your shares voted, the proxy holder will vote your shares according to the recommendations of our Board set forth above. Further, if any other matter properly comes before the virtual Annual Meeting or any adjournments or postponements thereof, the proxy holders will vote as recommended by our Board or, if no recommendation is given, in their own discretion.

Pursuant to rules adopted by the SEC, we have elected to provide access to our proxy materials over the internet. Accordingly, we are sending the Notice regarding the internet availability of the proxy materials to most of our stockholders of record and beneficial owners. All stockholders will have the ability to access the proxy materials on the website referred to in the Notice or to request to receive a printed set of proxy materials. Instructions on how to access the proxy materials over the internet or to request a printed copy may be found in the Notice. In addition, stockholders may request receipt of proxy materials in printed form by mail or electronically by e-mail on an ongoing basis by following instructions set forth in the Notice.

You can vote either in person by attending the virtual Annual Meeting via webcast or by proxy (whether or not you attend the virtual Annual Meeting via webcast). In order to vote while attending the virtual Annual Meeting via webcast, you will need to follow the instructions posted at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CXW2022 and will need to enter the 16-digit control number included in your Notice, your proxy card or voter instruction form.

If you are a record holder, you can submit your vote by proxy in any of the following ways:

If a bank, broker or other nominee was the record holder of your stock on the record date, you will be able to instruct your bank, broker or other nominee on how to vote by following the instructions on the voting instruction form or the Notice you receive from your bank, broker or other nominee. If you wish to vote in person via attendance at the virtual Annual Meeting, you will need to obtain a valid proxy from your broker, bank or other nominee authorizing you to vote your shares at the virtual Annual Meeting by following the instructions on the voting instruction form or the Notice you receive from your bank, broker or other nominee.

As a record holder, if you submit voting instructions by telephone or by the internet, you may change your vote by following the same instructions used in originally voting your shares. If your shares are held in the name of a broker, bank, trust or other nominee, you may change your voting instructions by following the instructions of your broker, bank, trust or other nominee. Attendance at the virtual Annual Meeting will not by itself revoke a previously granted proxy.

Your vote is important. Whether or not you plan to attend the virtual Annual Meeting via webcast, we urge you to submit your voting instructions to the proxy holders as soon as possible.

A “broker non-vote” occurs when a broker, bank or other nominee holding shares for a beneficial owner has not received voting instructions from the beneficial owner and the broker, bank or other nominee does not have discretionary authority to vote the shares. Brokers, banks and other nominees do not have discretionary authority to vote on the election of directors to serve on our Board (Proposal 1) or the advisory vote to approve the compensation paid to our Named Executive Officers (Proposal 3) or the vote to approve the CoreCivic, Inc. Amended and Restated 2020 Stock Incentive Plan (Proposal 4). As a result, if you hold your shares in street name and do not provide voting instructions on these proposals to your broker, bank or other nominee, your shares will be considered to be broker non-votes and will not be voted on such proposals. Shares that constitute broker non-votes will be counted as present at the virtual Annual Meeting for the purpose of determining a quorum but will not be considered entitled to vote on Proposal 1, Proposal 3 or Proposal 4. Brokers, banks and other nominees generally have discretionary authority to vote on Proposal 2, the non-binding ratification of the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm.

Quorum Requirement. The presence, in person via attendance at the virtual Annual Meeting or by proxy of the Company’s stockholders entitled to cast a majority of the votes entitled to be cast at the virtual Annual Meeting is necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at the virtual Annual Meeting. Abstentions and broker non-votes will be treated as shares present and entitled to vote for purposes of determining the presence of a quorum. Failure of a quorum to be represented at the virtual Annual Meeting will necessitate an adjournment or postponement of the virtual Annual Meeting and will subject the Company to additional expense.

Election of Directors. Under the Company’s Ninth Amended and Restated Bylaws (the “Bylaws”), adopted by our Board in December 2017, a majority of all of the votes cast at the virtual Annual Meeting is required for the election of each nominee in an uncontested election of directors. A majority of votes cast means the number of shares cast “for” a nominee’s election exceeds the number of votes cast “against” that nominee. Brokers do not have discretionary authority to vote on the election of directors. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of the vote of the election of directors as they are not considered votes cast.

If a director nominee is an incumbent director and does not receive a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election, that director will continue to serve on our Board as a “holdover” director but must tender his or her resignation to our Board promptly after certification of the election results of the stockholder vote. The Nominating and Governance Committee of our Board will then recommend to our Board whether to accept the resignation or whether other action should be taken. Our Board will act on the tendered resignation, taking into account the recommendation of our Nominating and Governance Committee, and our Board’s decision will be publicly disclosed within 90 days after certification of the election results of the stockholder vote. A director who tenders his or her resignation after failing to receive a majority of the votes cast will not participate in the recommendation of our Nominating and Governance Committee or the decision of our Board with respect to his or her resignation.

Non-Binding Ratification of Ernst & Young LLP. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares present in person via attendance at the virtual Annual Meeting or represented by proxy at the virtual Annual Meeting and entitled to vote is required to approve, on an advisory basis, the ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. If our stockholders do not ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP, our Audit Committee will reconsider the appointment and may affirm the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP or retain another independent accounting firm, in its sole discretion. Even if the appointment of Ernst & Young is ratified, our Audit Committee may in the future replace Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm at any time if it determines that a change would be in our best interest. Because brokers have discretionary authority to vote on the ratification of the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accountants, we do not expect any broker non-votes in connection with this proposal. If you abstain from voting on this proposal, your abstention will have the same effect as a vote against the proposal.

Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares present in person via attendance at the virtual Annual Meeting or represented by proxy at the virtual Annual Meeting and entitled to vote is required to approve the non-binding advisory vote of compensation paid to our Named Executive Officers. Because your vote is advisory, it will not be binding on our Board or the Company. However, our Board and our Compensation Committee will review the voting results and

take them into consideration when making future decisions regarding executive compensation paid to our Named Executive Officers. Broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of this proposal. If you abstain from voting on this proposal, your abstention will have the same effect as a vote against the proposal.

Vote on the CoreCivic, Inc. Amended and Restated 2020 Stock Incentive Plan. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares present in person via attendance at the virtual Annual Meeting or represented by proxy at the virtual Annual Meeting and entitled to vote is required to approve the CoreCivic, Inc. Amended and Restated 2020 Stock Incentive Plan. Brokers do not have discretionary authority to vote on the approval of the CoreCivic, Inc. Amended and Restated 2020 Stock Incentive Plan, as a result broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of this proposal. If you abstain from voting on this proposal, your abstention will have the same effect as a vote against the proposal.

We will announce the voting results at the virtual Annual Meeting. We also will report the voting results on a Current Report on Form 8-K, which we expect to file with the SEC within four business days after the virtual Annual Meeting has been held.

Our annual meeting of stockholders generally is held in May of each year. Consistent with applicable SEC rules, we will consider for inclusion in our proxy materials for next year’s annual meeting stockholder proposals that are actually received at our executive offices no later than Wednesday, November 30, 2022, and that comply with other SEC rules regarding form and content. Proposals must be sent to our executive offices using the following address: CoreCivic, Attention: Secretary, 5501 Virginia Way, Suite 110, Brentwood, Tennessee 37027.

Other stockholder proposals may be raised at next year’s annual meeting (but not considered for inclusion in our proxy materials) if timely received and otherwise in compliance with the advance notice provisions of our Bylaws. In order to be timely, notice must be actually received at our executive offices (the applicable address listed above) between Saturday, February 11, 2023 and Monday, March 13, 2023.

If you wish to nominate an individual to serve as a director, our Bylaws require that you comply with certain procedural requirements, including the delivery of a timely notice of the nomination in proper written form. The notice must include certain biographical information regarding the proposed nominee, that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for election of directors, or is otherwise required, in each case pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the proposed nominee’s written consent to nomination and the additional information as set forth in our Bylaws. Additionally, for a stockholder nominee to appear in our proxy materials, the nominating stockholder must satisfy, among other requirements set forth in our Bylaws, certain CoreCivic capital stock ownership requirements, as well as expressly elect at the time of providing the notice described above to have its nominee included in the Company’s proxy materials.

For a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary to be timely under our Bylaws, it must be delivered to or mailed and received at our principal executive offices (the applicable address listed above) between Saturday, February 11, 2023 and Monday, March 13, 2023. If the presiding officer at a meeting determines that a nomination was not properly made in accordance with the procedures set forth in our Bylaws, then the presiding officer will declare to the meeting that the nomination was defective, and the defective nomination shall be disregarded.

In addition to satisfying the foregoing requirements under our bylaws, to comply with the universal proxy rules (once effective), shareholders who intend to solicit proxies in support of director nominees other than CoreCivic’s nominees must provide notice that sets forth the information required by Rule 14a-19 under the Exchange Act no later than March 13, 2023.

Any stockholder who desires a copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as filed with the SEC, may obtain a copy without charge by visiting our website, www.corecivic.com. A copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K can also be obtained, free of charge, upon written request to CoreCivic, Attention: Cameron Hopewell, Managing Director of Investor Relations, 5501 Virginia Way, Suite 110, Brentwood, Tennessee 37027.

The Company pays the cost of soliciting proxies. Solicitation initially will be made by mail. Forms of proxies and proxy materials may also be distributed through brokers, custodians and other like parties to the beneficial owners of shares of our common stock, in which case we will reimburse these parties for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses. Proxies may also be solicited personally or by telephone, e-mail or facsimile by directors, officers and employees of the Company. No additional compensation will be paid for these services.

The SEC has adopted rules that permit companies and intermediaries such as brokers to satisfy delivery requirements for proxy statements and annual reports with respect to two or more stockholders sharing the same address by delivering a single copy of the Notice and, to the extent requested, a single set of proxy materials addressed to those stockholders. This process, which is commonly referred to as “householding,” potentially provides extra convenience for stockholders and cost savings for companies. The Company and some brokers household proxy materials unless contrary instructions have been received from the affected stockholders. Once you have received notice from your broker or us that they or we will be householding materials to your address, householding will continue until you are notified otherwise or until you revoke your consent. If at any time you do not wish to participate in householding and would prefer to receive a separate copy of the Notice or, to the extent requested, set of proxy materials, or if you are receiving multiple copies of proxy materials and wish to receive only one, please notify your broker if your shares are held in a brokerage account or our transfer agent, identified below, if you hold registered shares. You may also notify us by sending a written request to CoreCivic, Attention: Cameron Hopewell, 5501 Virginia Way, Suite 110, Brentwood, Tennessee 37027.

If you have any questions about the virtual Annual Meeting or these proxy materials, please contact Cameron Hopewell, 5501 Virginia Way, Suite 110, Brentwood, Tennessee 37027 or by telephone at (615) 263-3000. If you are a registered stockholder and have any questions about your ownership of our common stock, please contact our transfer agent, the American Stock Transfer and Trust Company, at 6201 15^th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11219, (800) 937-5449, or Cameron Hopewell, Managing Director of Investor Relations, at the address and phone number above. If your shares are held in a brokerage account, please contact your broker.

We encourage you to access the virtual Annual Meeting before it begins. Online check-in will start approximately thirty minutes before the meeting on Thursday, May 12, 2022. If you encounter any difficulties accessing the virtual Annual Meeting during the check-in time or meeting time, or you have any questions regarding how to use the virtual meeting platform, please call the technical support number that will be posted on the virtual shareholder meeting log-in page. On Thursday, May 12, 2022, there will be technicians available to assist you beginning at 9:30 a.m., Central Time.

We believe effective corporate governance is important to our long-term success and our ability to create value for our stockholders. With leadership from our Nominating and Governance Committee, our Board regularly evaluates regulatory developments and trends in corporate governance to determine whether our policies and practices in this area should be enhanced. Our Nominating and Governance Committee also administers an annual self-evaluation process for our Board and its standing committees. In addition, our directors are encouraged to attend director education programs, which are reimbursed by the Company.

You can access our current corporate charter, Bylaws, Corporate Governance Guidelines, Board committee charters, Code of Ethics and certain other corporate governance information on our website, www.corecivic.com (under the “Corporate Governance” section of the Investors page).

Messrs. Hininger and Lappin are not independent directors because Mr. Hininger is employed by the Company, and Mr. Lappin was employed by the Company until February 2022. Our Board has determined all of our other directors are independent. Accordingly, nine of our eleven current directors are independent, and eight of our ten director nominees are independent. Our Audit, Risk, Compensation and Nominating and Governance Committees are composed entirely of independent directors. In making its independence determinations, our Board used the requirements and standards for director independence prescribed by the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and the SEC and considered all relevant facts and circumstances.

We do not have a formal policy regarding the separation of our Chairman of the Board of Directors (our “Chair”) and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) positions. In general, our Board believes the determination depends on the circumstances, including our Board’s evaluation of the person or persons available to serve in those positions and the needs of the Company at a particular time.

Since October 2009, the roles of Chair and CEO have been held separately. Mark A. Emkes currently serves as our Chair, while Damon T. Hininger serves as our President and CEO. Our Board believes the Company’s leadership structure is appropriate at this particular time. Having Mr. Hininger serve as President and CEO, while Mr. Emkes serves as our Chair, helps us achieve important strategic objectives. Mr. Hininger is positioned to fully focus his energies on implementing our business strategy and administering our day-to-day affairs. Mr. Emkes is positioned to draw on his relationships with Board members and his experience to effectively discharge the duties of Chair, while also serving as a resource to Mr. Hininger. Our Board considers many factors when determining how to best select our Chair, including: familiarity with the Company and its business, proximity in location to the Company’s headquarters, experience as a leader and consensus builder, willingness and availability to dedicate sufficient time to the Company and experience working with other public companies.

Pursuant to our Bylaws, our Chair presides over meetings of our Board and meetings of the stockholders at which he or she is present and has general oversight responsibility for our business and affairs. Our CEO has responsibility for implementation of the policies of the Company, as determined by our Board, and for the administration of our business affairs. Our CEO also has responsibility for presiding over any meeting of our Board or of the stockholders at which our Chair is not present.

Executive sessions of our Board, or meetings of our independent directors without management present, are held periodically in order to provide an opportunity for the directors to discuss openly any and all matters. Our independent directors typically conduct their executive sessions prior to, and/or following the conclusion of, regular meetings of our Board. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that executive sessions of our Board are called and chaired by an independent director appointed from time to time by our Nominating and Governance Committee. Mark A. Emkes currently serves as the executive session chair.

Our Board is responsible for establishing our broad corporate policies and strategic objectives, reviewing our overall performance and overseeing management’s performance. Among other things, our Board selects and evaluates our executive officers, establishes, reviews and approves our corporate objectives and strategies and evaluates and approves major acquisitions and capital commitments.

Our Board currently consists of 11 directors, 10 of whom are standing for re-election at the virtual Annual Meeting and are identified, along with their biographical information (such biographical information for incumbent director Charles L. Overby, who intends to retire as a director, and will not stand for re-election, effective as of the virtual Annual Meeting, is also included), under “Proposal 1—Election of Directors” beginning on page 23 of this Proxy Statement.

In 2021, our Board met 8 times in regular session, and our independent directors met 10 times in executive session. The average attendance of all directors at Board and regularly standing committee meetings was approximately 99%. Each director attended at least 93% of the aggregate meetings of the Board and any regularly standing committees on which such director was a member, during the period in which he or she served as a member of such committee. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that all directors are expected to attend each annual meeting of stockholders. All of the directors serving on the Board at such time virtually attended last year’s virtual annual meeting of stockholders.

Our Board has five regularly standing committees: the Audit, Compensation, Nominating and Governance, Risk and Executive Committees. Each regularly standing committee has a written charter that has been approved by the respective committee, the Nominating and Governance Committee and our Board. Each committee charter is reviewed at least annually. Our Board and its committees may act by unanimous written consent without convening a meeting, and our Board appoints and delegates certain duties to special committees from time to time as permitted by our Bylaws. The table below shows the current composition of each of our regularly standing and two special committees (the Special Litigation Committee and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee). Together with a summary of each committee’s responsibilities and the number of meetings each committee held in 2021. The table below also includes the composition of the Demand Review Committee, which completed its work on March 31, 2021, and was dissolved by our Board.

Our Audit Committee is responsible for:

Our Board has determined that each member of our Audit Committee is independent as defined by the standards of the NYSE and Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act. Our Board also has determined that each member is “financially literate” as defined by the rules of the NYSE, and that each of Ms. Mariucci, Mr. Murphy, and Mr. Prann is qualified as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in Item 407(d) of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act. The full text of the Audit Committee charter is available on the Company’s website at www.corecivic.com (under the “Corporate Governance” section of the Investors page).

Our Compensation Committee approves the compensation of our CEO and other executive officers, including annually reviewing and approving corporate goals and objectives relevant to their compensation. Our Compensation Committee is responsible for ensuring that our compensation programs are designed to encourage high performance, promote accountability and adherence to Company values and align with the interests of our stockholders. Our Compensation Committee’s responsibilities include administration of cash and equity-based incentive compensation plans and stock ownership guidelines, evaluation of the performance of the executive officers and assessment of the material risks of our compensation programs. With respect to ESG matters, our Compensation Committee monitors and manages our executive compensation program incentives to ensure incentives are aligned with sustainable and socially responsible business practices. Our Compensation Committee is also responsible for reviewing, and making recommendations to our Board regarding, the compensation of our Board. The Compensation Committee may form and delegate authority to one or more subcommittees as it deems appropriate from time to time under the circumstances.

Our Compensation Committee has retained Exequity LLP (“Exequity”) as its independent compensation consultant, to provide advice and guidance on the design and market competitiveness of our executive

compensation programs. Exequity reports exclusively to the Compensation Committee and does not provide any additional services to the Company. Each year our Compensation Committee reviews the independence of the compensation consultants and other advisors who provide advice to our Compensation Committee, employing the independence factors specified in the NYSE listing standards. Our Compensation Committee has determined Exequity is independent within the meaning of the NYSE listing standards. In 2021, Exequity assisted our Compensation Committee by providing the following compensation consulting services:

Our Board has determined that each of Robert J. Dennis (Chair), Mark A. Emkes, Anne L. Mariucci and John R. Prann, Jr., who comprise all members of our Compensation Committee, is independent as defined by the listing standards of the NYSE. In addition, there are no relationships among our executive officers, members of our Compensation Committee or entities whose executives serve on our Board or our Compensation Committee that require disclosure. Each member also qualifies as a “non-employee director” within the meaning of the SEC’s Rule 16b-3. The full text of the Compensation Committee charter is available on the Company’s website at www.corecivic.com (under the “Corporate Governance” section of the Investors page).

Our Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for developing and overseeing our Board’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, and for monitoring the independence of our Board. Our Nominating and Governance Committee also determines Board membership qualifications; selects, evaluates and recommends to the Board nominees to fill vacancies as they arise; reviews the performance of our Board and its committees; and is responsible for director education. Other responsibilities include oversight of our Board’s self-evaluation process and leading our Board’s executive succession planning efforts. With respect to ESG matters, our Nominating and Governance Committee oversees Company practices and policies related to corporate governance, social responsibility, community interests, political activities and political contributions and lobbying. Our Board has determined that each member of our Nominating and Governance Committee is independent as defined by the listing standards of the NYSE. The full text of the Nominating and Governance Committee charter is available on the Company’s website at www.corecivic.com (under the “Corporate Governance” section of the Investors page).

Our Nominating and Governance Committee is authorized by our Board to identify director candidates; evaluate and consider candidates proposed by any director, member of management or stockholder; develop and implement screening processes it deems necessary and appropriate; and recommend for selection by our Board director nominees for each annual meeting of stockholders and, when necessary, vacancies on the Board. Our Nominating and Governance Committee is authorized by our Board to exercise sole authority in retaining any third-party search firm our Nominating and Governance Committee deems appropriate to identify and assist with the evaluation of director candidates; and has utilized that authority in past director searches.

Our Nominating and Governance Committee may utilize a variety of methods for identifying nominees for director. Candidates may come to the attention of our Nominating and Governance Committee through current Board members, stockholders, members of management, director search firms and other persons. A stockholder who wishes to recommend a prospective nominee for our Board should notify our Secretary in writing, along with any supporting material the stockholder considers appropriate, in accordance with the stockholder proposal provisions of our Bylaws. General information concerning the submission of stockholder proposals is provided above under the heading How and when may I submit a stockholder proposal for the Company’s 2023 Annual Meeting? General information concerning the submission of stockholder nominations for an individual to serve as a director is provided above under the heading How and when may I submit a nomination for an individual to serve on the Board? Pursuant to Board policy, there are to be no differences in the manner in which our Nominating and Governance Committee evaluates candidates based on the source of the recommendation.

Our Nominating and Governance Committee evaluates prospective nominees against the criteria in our Corporate Governance Guidelines, which include professional integrity and sound judgment; sufficient time available to devote to Board activities; a general understanding of marketing, finance and other elements relevant to the success of a publicly-traded company in today’s business environment; an understanding of our business and human rights concerns related to our business; and factors such as diversity, age, skills and educational and professional background. With respect to diversity, our Nominating and Governance Committee considers diversity in terms of age, gender, race and ethnicity, as well as diversity of skills, expertise and experience, in its deliberations. The Nominating and Governance Committee implements these criteria, including diversity, by considering the information about the nominee provided by the proponent, the nominee, third parties and other sources. In addition, the Board assesses the diversity of its members and nominees as part of an annual performance evaluation by considering, among other factors, diversity in age, gender, race and ethnicity, as well as diversity of skills, expertise and experience.

Our Nominating and Governance Committee may also consider other factors it deems relevant, including the current composition of our Board in terms of independence, expertise, experience and special knowledge required for the effective discharge of Board responsibilities; whether there is a need to fill vacancies or expand or contract the size of the Board; the balance of management and independent directors; the structure, membership and need for expertise on our standing committees; and the qualifications of other prospective nominees. Nominees are not discriminated against on the basis of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability or any other basis protected by applicable law.

With respect to determining whether current directors should stand for re-election, our Nominating and Governance Committee considers the director’s past attendance at meetings and participation in and contributions to the activities of our Board and the Company. With respect to new candidates for Board service, a full evaluation may also include detailed background checks and in-person and telephonic interviews with our Nominating and Governance Committee and other Board members. Our Nominating and Governance Committee evaluation process culminates with a decision as to whether or not to recommend the prospective nominee to the full Board for appointment and/or nomination.

Our Risk Committee is charged with coordinating our Board’s oversight of our assessment and risk management practices, including our enterprise risk management (“ERM”) program; our legal and regulatory environment; and our contract compliance, particularly regarding contracts with government entities. With respect to ESG matters, our Risk Committee is responsible for reviewing and discussing with management the Company’s ESG Reporting Program, making recommendations to our Board regarding ESG Reporting and overseeing publication of our ESG Report. Our Risk Committee is also responsible for

monitoring and reviewing public policy developments and other trends facing the Company that could impact our operations and performance. Our Risk Committee further assists our Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibility with respect to organizational ethics and compliance and receives regular reports from our Corporate Ethics and Compliance Officer, who reports to the CEO, and to the chair of our Risk Committee. The full text of the Risk Committee charter is available on the Company’s website at www.corecivic.com (under the “Corporate Governance” section of the Investors page).

Our Executive Committee is charged with acting on behalf of the full Board when necessary and subject to authority limitations with respect to the transaction of routine, administrative matters that occur between regularly scheduled Board meetings. The full text of the Executive Committee charter is available on the Company’s website at www.corecivic.com (under the “Corporate Governance” section of the Investors page).

In response to stockholder demand letters, our Board formed a Special Litigation Committee to take any actions it deems appropriate or necessary to investigate, respond and otherwise properly address the matters alleged in the demand letters. The matters alleged in the demand letters were generally related to an August 18, 2016 memorandum issued by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) in which the DOJ directed that, as each contract with privately operated prisons reaches the end of its term, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) should either decline to renew that contract or substantially reduce its scope in a manner consistent with law and the overall decline of the BOP's inmate population. That memorandum was rescinded on February 21, 2017, by the newly-appointed Attorney General. The Special Litigation Committee has retained independent legal counsel to advise the committee in the performance of its duties. The matters being reviewed by the Special Litigation Committee are separate from the matters reviewed by the Demand Review Committee during 2020 and 2021, which are discussed below.

In response to a stockholder demand letter received on January 13, 2020, from the Oregon Attorney General and the Oregon State Treasurer, our Board formed a Demand Review Committee in January 2020 to take any actions it deems appropriate or necessary to investigate, respond and otherwise properly address the matters alleged in the demand letter. The demand letter’s allegations are associated with various incidents and allegations related to the Company’s operation of correctional and detention facilities. The Demand Review Committee retained independent legal counsel to advise the committee in the performance of its duties. The Demand Review Committee completed its work and was dissolved by the Board effective March 31, 2021.

In support of the Company’s desire to enhance its ongoing efforts to promote a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce, our Board formed a DEI Committee. The Committee oversees the Company’s Board-approved DEI Initiative, which is designed to (i) sustain and enhance an inclusive culture that values working with diverse groups of people who offer diversity of thought and perspective; (ii) support an environment that treats persons equitably and strives to offer equality of opportunity; and (iii) promote DEI in all aspects of the Company’s endeavors.

The Audit Committee charter provides that a member of our Audit Committee may not serve on the audit committee of more than two other public companies without Board approval. Otherwise, we do not believe our directors should be categorically prohibited from serving on boards and/or board committees of other organizations. However, our Corporate Governance Guidelines instruct our Nominating and Governance Committee and our Board to take into account the nature of and time involved with respect to a director’s service on other boards, as well as other job responsibilities, in evaluating the suitability of individual directors and in making its recommendations to our stockholders. Service on boards and/or committees of other organizations must also be consistent with our conflicts of interest policy, as set forth in our Code of Ethics. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines require a director to provide notice to the Chair of our Nominating and Governance Committee of his or her acceptance of a nomination to serve on the board of another public company in the case where such nomination has not been previously disclosed.

Stockholders, employees and other interested parties may communicate with members of our Board (including specific members of our Board or our independent directors as a group) by writing to CoreCivic, Attention: Secretary, 5501 Virginia Way, Suite 110, Brentwood, Tennessee 37027. To the extent such communications are received, our Secretary compiles all substantive communications and periodically submits them to our Board, the group of directors or the individual directors to whom they are addressed. Communications that the Secretary would not consider “substantive,” and therefore may exercise discretion in submitting to the addressee, may include, but are not limited to, junk mail, mass mailings, resumes and job inquiries, surveys, business solicitations, advertisements, frivolous communications and other similarly unsuitable communications.

Communications expressing concerns or complaints relating to accounting, internal controls or auditing matters are handled in accordance with procedures established by our Audit Committee. Under those procedures, concerns that are improperly characterized as having to do with accounting, internal controls or auditing matters or that are frivolous or clearly inconsequential may be addressed by the Secretary without presentation to our Audit Committee.

Since the beginning of the last fiscal year, we are aware of no related party transactions between us and any of our directors, executive officers, 5% stockholders or their family members that require disclosure under Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act.

Pursuant to its written charter, our Audit Committee has adopted a Related Party Transaction Policy that, subject to certain exceptions, requires our Audit Committee (or Chair of our Audit Committee in certain instances) to review and either ratify, approve or disapprove all “Interested Transactions,” which are generally defined to include any transaction, arrangement or relationship or series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) in which:

For purposes of the policy, a “Related Party” is any:

In determining whether to approve or ratify an Interested Transaction under the policy, our Audit Committee is to consider all relevant information and facts available to it regarding the Interested Transaction and take into account factors such as the Related Party’s relationship to the Company and interest (direct or indirect) in the transaction, the terms of the transaction and the benefits to the Company of the transaction. No director is to participate in the approval of an Interested Transaction for which he or she is a Related Party or otherwise has a direct or indirect interest.

In addition, our Audit Committee is to review and assess ongoing Interested Transactions, if any, on at least an annual basis to determine whether such transactions, if any, remain appropriate or should be modified or terminated.

We maintain stock ownership guidelines for our executive officers and non-executive directors because we believe it is important to align the interests of our management and our Board with the interests of our stockholders. The guidelines are discussed in detail under the headings Executive and Director Compensation—Guidelines and Policies—Executive Officer Stock Ownership Guidelines and Executive and Director Compensation—Director Compensation—Director Stock Ownership Guidelines in this Proxy Statement and are accessible on our website, www.corecivic.com (under the “Corporate Governance” section of the Investors page).

Our insider trading guidelines include provisions that prohibit members of our Board, executive officers, other officers and employees from engaging in hedging or pledging transactions involving Company securities. Generally prohibited practices include purchasing or selling derivative securities, such as exchange-traded put or call options as well as participating in individually arranged derivative transactions. Directors, executive officers, other officers and employees are also generally prohibited from participating in long-term forward sales or monetization transactions that are used to hedge an ownership position in the Company’s securities. None of the members of our Board or our executive officers are engaged in any hedging or pledging transactions involving Company securities.

In 2015, the SEC issued proposed rules regarding the adoption of “clawback” policies by publicly listed companies in accordance with the requirements of Section 954 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”). When final SEC rules implementing these requirements become effective, publicly listed companies will be required to adopt a “clawback” policy providing for the

recovery of certain incentive-based compensation from the executive officers of the company in the event the company is required to restate its financials as a result of material noncompliance of the company with any financial reporting requirements under the securities laws.

In order to ensure full compliance with these SEC rules, we intend to adopt our own formal “clawback” policy applicable to our executive officers complying with such rules once these final rules have been adopted by the SEC. In addition, Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires the recovery of incentive awards in certain circumstances. If we are required to restate our financials due to material noncompliance with any financial reporting requirements as a result of misconduct, our CEO and CFO will be required under Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to reimburse us for (1) any bonus or other incentive- or equity-based compensation received during the 12 months following the first public issuance of the non-complying document, and (2) any profits realized from the sale of our securities during such 12 month period. Our Second Amended and Restated 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2008 Plan”) and our 2020 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2020 Plan”) also provide that any award made to a participant under the plan will be subject to mandatory repayment by the participant to us to the extent required by (a) any award agreement, (b) any “clawback” or recoupment policy adopted by CoreCivic to comply with the requirements of any applicable laws, rules or regulations, including final SEC rules adopted pursuant to Section 954 of the Dodd-Frank Act, or otherwise, or (c) any applicable laws which impose mandatory recoupment, under circumstances set forth in such applicable laws, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

All of our directors and employees, including our CEO, Chief Financial Officer and principal accounting officer, are subject to our Code of Ethics. Our Code of Ethics and related compliance policies are designed to promote an environment in which integrity is valued, business is conducted in a legal and ethical manner and ethics and compliance issues are raised and addressed. Our Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for reviewing our Code of Ethics annually, and our Risk Committee is responsible for addressing any violations or waivers involving our executive officers and directors. We intend to post any amendments to or waivers from our Code of Ethics (to the extent applicable to our directors, CEO, principal financial officer or principal accounting officer) on our website. Our Code of Ethics is accessible on our website, www.corecivic.com (under the “Corporate Governance” section of the Investors page).

Our Board engages in proactive oversight and regular review of the development, evaluation and execution of our annual operating plan and long-term growth and investment strategies. Each regular meeting of our Board includes a comprehensive business update presented by our CEO, which addresses our progress in achieving near-term operational objectives, strategic transactions completed, and new opportunities being actively pursued, as well as current and future challenges to our continued success. Each such meeting also includes presentations from members of the executive team who are directly responsible for the implementation of our strategy and the financial performance of our business. At our Board’s two-day retreat in August of each year, management engages our Board in a detailed discussion of our growth, capital allocation and investment strategies, risks and challenges, and proposals for modifying our strategies to improve results. At its annual December meeting, our Board engages in discussion with management on the details of our annual operating plan prior to its approval. In addition to the opportunity to engage management and independent consultants we retain to assist with the development and execution of our strategy, our independent directors meet in executive session regularly to discuss the Company’s performance and review long-term strategy.

Our Risk Committee performs a leadership role on behalf of our Board and our Audit Committee in the oversight of our risk assessment and risk management practices and assists our Board and Audit Committee with oversight of our financial, legal, contractual, regulatory and ESG risks and organizational ethics and compliance. Our Risk Committee is also charged with oversight of management’s ERM program.

Management’s ERM program entails the identification, prioritization and assessment of a broad range of risks (e.g., financial, operational, business, reputational, governance and managerial), and the formulation of plans to develop and improve controls for managing these risks or mitigating their effects in an integrated effort involving our Board, relevant Board committees, management and other personnel. Our ERM program is led by our General Counsel, is a component of management’s strategic planning process and is overseen by our Risk Committee with periodic reports to the full Board.

The full Board maintains an ongoing, direct role in risk oversight through, among other things, regular reports from the Chair of our Risk Committee, regular reports from our CEO on the ERM process and oversight of management’s strategic planning process, which includes an evaluation of opportunities and risks presented by the Company’s current strategies and alternative strategies. Our Board also receives regular reports from each of the executives with respect to their areas of managerial responsibility. These reports include information concerning risks and risk mitigation strategies. For example, our Board receives regular reports from our Chief Operating Officer with respect to key areas of operational risk; monitors risks relating to our partnership development efforts through regular reports from our Chief Development Officer; and receives regular reports from our General Counsel with respect to legal and compliance risks. In addition, our Board evaluates risk in the context of particular business strategies and transactions. For example, our Board monitors significant capital expenditures through its annual budget review and quarterly capital expenditure reports from management, and monitors risk relating to our acquisition and financing activities through in-depth reviews of proposed acquisition and financing transactions.

In addition to our Risk Committee, other standing committees of our Board have responsibility for risk oversight within their areas of oversight. Our Audit Committee focuses on financial risk, including fraud risk and risks relating to our internal controls over financial reporting. It receives an annual risk assessment report from our internal auditors, as well as financial risk assessment information in connection with particular events or transactions. Our Nominating and Governance Committee addresses certain governance-related risks, such as risks related to Board and executive management succession planning. As discussed in detail below, our Compensation Committee addresses risks relating to our executive compensation strategies. The full Board receives regular reports from the chairs of these committees and receives copies of meeting materials provided to each of the committees.

The Risk Committee of the Board provides oversight for ESG reporting matters, while each standing Committee of the Board shares the oversight of ESG concerns consistent with the duties specified in each Committee's charter. ESG reporting authority is delegated to CoreCivic's Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer by our President and CEO. We appointed a cross-functional team that provides annual updates to the goals and priority reporting topics within our ESG Report. In 2020, CoreCivic conducted a materiality assessment in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (“GRI”) processes to identify “material” ESG topics, as defined by the GRI.

Topics identified by CoreCivic's internal and external stakeholders during our ESG assessments generally fall within the following areas:

For more information about our ESG efforts, including our ESG Report, which provides a detailed overview of our ESG efforts, please visit our website at www.corecivic.com/esg. Please note that our website is provided as an inactive contextual reference and the information on our website is not incorporated by reference in this proxy statement.

We expect to publish our 2021 ESG Report, providing an update to our ESG efforts, in the second quarter of 2022.

In setting compensation, our Compensation Committee considers risks in the achievement of the Company’s goals that may be inherent in the compensation program as well as the risks to CoreCivic’s stockholders. Although a significant portion of our executives’ compensation is performance-based and “at-risk,” our Compensation Committee believes our executive compensation plans are appropriately structured and do not pose a material risk to CoreCivic. Our Compensation Committee considered the following elements of our executive compensation plans and policies when evaluating whether such plans and policies encourage our executives to take unreasonable risks:

Our Board reflects a diverse, highly engaged group of directors with a wide range of relevant experience. The following matrix provides information about each of our incumbent director nominees (but does not include information about Charles L. Overby, who is not standing for re-election at the virtual Annual Meeting), including certain types of knowledge, skills, experiences and attributes possessed by one or more of our directors, which our Board believes are relevant to our business and operations. The matrix does not encompass all of the knowledge, skill, experience or attribute of our directors and does not suggest that a director who is not listed as having any particular knowledge, skill, experience or attribute is unable to contribute to the decision-making process in such area. No individual knowledge, skill, experience or attribute is solely dispositive of becoming a member of our Board.

 

The current term of office of each of our directors expires at the virtual Annual Meeting. Our Board has nominated the following 10 nominees, all of whom are incumbent directors, for election to serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. We expect each of the 10 nominees to serve if elected. If any of them becomes unavailable to serve as a director, our Board may

designate a substitute nominee. In that case, the persons named as proxies will vote for the substitute nominee designated by our Board. Incumbent director Charles L. Overby (whose information is provided below) intends to retire as a director, and will not stand for re-election, effective as of the virtual Annual Meeting. Mr. Overby is not retiring as a result of any disagreement with the Company. Effective as of the virtual Annual Meeting, the Board has reduced the authorized size of the Board from 11 directors to 10 directors.

The general criteria considered by our Nominating and Governance Committee with respect to director nominees are discussed beginning on page 14 of this Proxy Statement under the heading Nominating and Governance Committee. Based on the evaluation of those criteria, our Nominating and Governance Committee and Board believe each nominee contributes relevant skills, expertise and experience to our Board, and that the group of nominees collectively has the skills, expertise, experience, independence, diversity and other attributes necessary to effectively discharge our Board’s oversight responsibilities on behalf of our stockholders.

The Board believes that all members of the Board should devote sufficient time and attention to their duties and to otherwise fulfill the responsibilities required of directors. In assessing whether directors and director nominees have sufficient time and attention to devote to board duties, the Nominating and Governance Committee and the Board consider whether directors serve on an excessive number of public company boards, a situation frequently referred to as “overboarding.”

Our Board believes that each of our directors has demonstrated the ability to devote sufficient time and attention to board duties and to otherwise fulfill the responsibilities required of our directors. However, we understand that certain of our stockholders may deem Devin Murphy overboarded under their policies. In addition to serving as a director of the Company, Mr. Murphy serves as President of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. and as a director of Apartment Income REIT Corp. Both companies are publicly traded, but Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. was a non-traded REIT at the time of Mr. Murphy’s initial election to the Board, becoming publicly traded during 2021. After careful consideration, the Board believes that Mr. Murphy has dedicated, and will continue to dedicate, sufficient time to carry out his duties as a member of the Board effectively and believes that his service with other public companies, including his service on one additional publicly traded board, does not, and will not, negatively impact his service on our Board for the following reasons:

Information regarding each of the incumbent directors standing for re-election, including particular qualifications considered for each nominee, is set forth below. Directors’ ages are given as of the date of this Proxy Statement.

Mr. Hininger, age 52, has served as a director and our President and Chief Executive Officer since October 2009. From 2008 until 2009, he served as our President and Chief Operating Officer. From 2007 until 2008, he served as our Senior Vice President, Federal and Local Customer Relations, after having served as Vice President, Federal and Local Customer Relations since 2002. Prior to 2002, he held several positions of increasing responsibility with the Company. Mr. Hininger joined the Company in 1992 as a correctional officer at our Leavenworth Detention Center. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville and Belmont University, where he also serves on the Board of Advisors for the Massey School of Business. Mr. Hininger also serves on the Board of Directors of the Nashville Public Education Foundation, the Men of Valor, the Kansas State University Foundation and as a member of the Executive Board of the Middle Tennessee Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Mr. Hininger holds a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University and a master’s degree in business administration from the Jack Massey School of Business at Belmont University. He is a 2022 recipient of the American Correctional Association’s (“ACA”) E.R. Cass Award for Correctional Achievement, the highest honor bestowed by that organization.

In making the decision to nominate Mr. Hininger to serve as a director, our Nominating and Governance Committee considered, in addition to the criteria referred to above, his current service as our President and CEO and his comprehensive knowledge of the Company, its business, operations and management team through his current position and past roles with the Company, including roles at the facility operations level, as Chief Operating Officer and as Senior Vice President, Federal and Local Customer Relations. The Board also considered Mr. Hininger's familiarity and experience with human rights issues affecting the Company's business because of his leadership role in our Company, his multi-decade experience in our industry and his participation in human rights related panels and programs as part of his involvement with the ACA and the Correctional Leaders Association.

Ms. Alvarado, age 73, has served as a director since December 2003, and serves as Chair of our Nominating and Governance Committee. She also serves as a member of our Audit Committee, Risk Committee and our DEI Committee and previously served as Chair of our Compensation Committee. Ms. Alvarado is the founder and president of Aguila International, an international business consulting firm specializing in human resources and leadership development. Ms. Alvarado has held senior management positions in government, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense with the U.S. Department of Defense and Director of ACTION, the federal domestic volunteer agency. Ms. Alvarado serves as a director and member of the audit, compensation and public affairs committees of CSX Corporation, a publicly traded provider of rail and other transportation services. She serves as a director and chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee, as well as a member of the audit and risk committees, of Park National Corporation, a publicly traded bank holding company. Ms. Alvarado has served as a member and as chair of both the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio Workforce Policy Board. She holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Spanish from The Ohio State University, completed doctoral coursework in Latin American literature at the University of Oklahoma and earned a postgraduate certificate in financial management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

In making the decision to nominate Ms. Alvarado to serve as a director, our Nominating and Governance Committee considered, in addition to the criteria referred to above, her understanding of government through her public sector experience; her experience as a public company director and member of audit, compensation, risk and nominating and corporate governance committees; her human resources and leadership development expertise; her civic and community involvement; and her contribution to the Board’s gender and cultural diversity. The Board also considered Ms. Alvarado’s experience related to human rights issues, both in general and as affecting our Company’s business, including her service on various statewide commissions focused on equity in educational access, judicial reform, voting rights and equal opportunity in employment as well as her service on national commissions focused on addressing homelessness, expanded treatment for addiction, immigration and literacy.

Mr. Dennis, age 68, has served as a director since February 2013, and serves as Chair of our Compensation Committee and as a member of our Executive Committee. Mr. Dennis served as the Executive Chair of the Board of Directors of Genesco Inc., a publicly traded retailer of footwear, apparel and accessories, from February 2020 to June 30, 2020. Previously, Mr. Dennis served as Genesco’s President and Chief Executive Officer from 2008 until February 2020 and as Chair from April 2010 to February 2020. Prior to joining Genesco, Mr. Dennis held senior management positions with Hat World Corporation and Asbury Automotive and was a partner and leader of the North American Retail Practice with McKinsey & Company. Mr. Dennis serves as a director and member of the governance committee and the finance and investments committee of HCA Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded health care services company. Mr. Dennis serves on the Board of Trustees of the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville, the Board of Leadership Nashville, the Board of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, and serves on the Board of Visitors at Vanderbilt University’s Owen School of Management. Mr. Dennis holds a master’s degree in business administration, with distinction, from the Harvard Business School, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

In making the decision to nominate Mr. Dennis to serve as a director, our Nominating and Governance Committee considered, in addition to the criteria referred to above, his leadership experience as chief executive officer of a public company; his public company director experience; his demonstrated business acumen; his understanding of corporate finance and business development matters; and his civic and community involvement. The Board also considered Mr. Dennis’ human rights related experience associated with the management of a clothing retailer engaged in international business, labor and supply chain management.

Mr. Emkes, age 69, has served as a director since August 2014, and serves as the independent Chair of the Board. He also serves as a member of our Compensation Committee and our Nominating and Governance Committee. Mr. Emkes also serves as Chair of our Executive Committee. From 2011 until 2013, Mr. Emkes served as the State of Tennessee’s Commissioner of Finance and Administration. For more than five years until his retirement in 2010, Mr. Emkes served as Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board of Directors of Bridgestone Americas, Inc. and Bridgestone Americas Holdings, Inc., a tire and rubber manufacturing company. He also served as President of Bridgestone Americas, Inc. from January 2009 until his retirement. From 2004 until 2010, Mr. Emkes also served as a director of Bridgestone Corporation. Mr. Emkes serves as a director and member of the compensation committee of Greif, Inc., a publicly traded industrial packaging products and services company, and is a former director and chair of the audit committee of First Horizon National Corporation, a publicly traded regional financial institution. Mr. Emkes has served as President of the Middle Tennessee Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and the Advisory Board of Habitat for Humanity, Nashville Chapter.

Mr. Emkes was the 2011 recipient of the Jennings A. Jones Champion of Free Enterprise Award and was inducted into the Nashville Business Hall of Fame in 2012. Mr. Emkes holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from DePauw University and a master’s degree in business administration from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

In making the decision to nominate Mr. Emkes to serve as a director, our Nominating and Governance Committee considered, in addition to the criteria referred to above, his leadership experience in various management positions, including as chief executive officer and chair of an international company; his demonstrated business acumen and his understanding of corporate finance and business development matters; his understanding of state government through his public sector experience; and his civic and community involvement. The Board also considered Mr. Emkes’ experience with human rights issues, including those related to sourcing, workplace practices and labor management as part of his role as executive leader of an international manufacturer operating throughout the Americas.

Ms. Hylton, age 61, has served as a director since August 2016, and is a member of our Nominating and Governance Committee and Risk Committee. Ms. Hylton is also the Chair of our Special Litigation Committee and a member of our DEI Committee. Since 2016, Ms. Hylton has served as a Principal for LS Advisory, a New Jersey-based business solutions advisory consultancy. In 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama nominated Ms. Hylton to serve as Director of the U.S. Marshals Service (“USMS”), a federal agency with more than 5,600 employees responsible for federal judiciary security, fugitive operations, asset forfeitures, prisoner operations, transportation and witness security, and served as Director of the USMS until her retirement in 2015. She served as the U.S. Attorney General’s Federal Detention Trustee in the U.S. Department of Justice from 2004 to 2010. From 1980 to 2004, Ms. Hylton served in progressively senior leadership positions within the USMS. Ms. Hylton serves as a director and member of the audit committee of Spok Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded provider of communications solutions and as a director and member of the audit committee of the board of Trust Stamp, Inc., a publicly traded company listed on the Euronext Growth equity trading market. Ms. Hylton is a Fellow for the National Academy for Public Administration and has served on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Law Enforcement Exploring. Ms. Hylton has served on the Executive Committee for the International Chiefs of Police and the Accreditation and Policy Committees for the National Sheriffs Association. Ms. Hylton holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Northeastern University.

In making the decision to nominate Ms. Hylton to serve as a director, our Nominating and Governance Committee considered, in addition to the criteria referred to above, her understanding of government through her public sector experience; her experience as a public company director and member of an audit committee; her unique understanding of the USMS; her civic and community involvement; and her contribution to the Board’s gender diversity. The Board also considered Ms. Hylton’s experience with human rights issues related to our business, developed through leadership of a large, federal law enforcement and detention agency. In that role, Ms. Hylton led the establishment, revision and compliance monitoring of human rights standards, engaged with nongovernmental organizations and national and international stakeholders and participated in policing and detention reform initiatives.

Mr. Lappin, age 66, has served as a director and was employed as a special operations advisor to the leadership team of the Company from January 2018 until February 2022. Mr. Lappin served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Corrections Officer from 2011 until his retirement from such position on January 1, 2018. Prior to joining the Company in 2011, Mr. Lappin served from 2003 to 2011 as Director of the BOP. As Director of the BOP, Mr. Lappin had oversight and management responsibility for 116 federal

prisons, 14 large, private contract facilities and more than 250 contracts for community corrections facilities, in total comprising more than 215,000 offenders managed by 38,000 employees. Mr. Lappin has received numerous awards throughout his career, including the Associate Warden of the Year award for the BOP’s South Central Region (1992); the BOP’s Excellence in Prison Management Award (2000); the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Management (2001); and the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive (2004). In 2010, he received the ACA’s E.R. Cass Award for Correctional Achievement, the highest honor bestowed by that organization. In 2015, Mr. Lappin received the Louie L. Wainwright Award from the Association of State Correctional Administrators (“ASCA”). Mr. Lappin has served as chair of the Standards Committee of the ACA, is a former board member of both the National Institute of Corrections and the Federal Prison Industry Board, and a former chair of the Prison Industry Committee of ASCA. Mr. Lappin holds a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Kent State University.

In making the decision to nominate Mr. Lappin to serve as a director, our Nominating and Governance Committee considered, in addition to the criteria referred to above, his comprehensive corrections industry experience, including executive leadership of federal and private sector correctional system operations; his public company leadership experience; his understanding of government through his public sector experience; and his extensive knowledge of the Company, its business, operations, facilities, customers and personnel through his past role as our Chief Corrections Officer. The Board also considered Mr. Lappin’s extensive experience with human rights issues affecting our business, such as safe and secure detention, respect for prisoner and detainee rights, labor management, and engagement with nongovernmental organizations. He acquired this experience while serving in various roles including executive leader of the nation’s largest corrections and detention system.

Ms. Mariucci, age 64, has served as a director since December 2011, and serves as a member of our Audit Committee and our Compensation Committee. Ms. Mariucci also serves as Chair of our DEI Committee. Since 2003, she has been affiliated with private equity firms Hawkeye Partners (Austin, Texas), Inlign Capital Partners (Phoenix, Arizona) and Glencoe Capital (Chicago, Illinois). Prior to 2003, Ms. Mariucci served in a variety of senior executive roles with Del Webb Corporation, and following its 2001 merger with Pulte Homes, Inc., as President of Del Webb Group and Senior Vice President of Strategy for Pulte Homes, Inc. Ms. Mariucci serves as a director of Taylor Morrison Home Corporation, a publicly traded homebuilder where she serves as Chair, Compensation Committee, and as a member of the Audit and Nominating & Governance committees. Ms. Mariucci also serves as a director of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. a publicly traded holding company, where she serves as Chair of the Pension Investment Committee and as a member of the Compensation and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committees. Ms. Mariucci serves as lead director of Berry Corporation (f/k/a Berry Petroleum Corporation), a publicly traded energy company, where she serves as a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, Chair of the Compensation Committee and a member of the Audit Committee. Ms. Mariucci serves as a director of Banner Health, a non-profit health system, where she serves as Board Chair, a member of the Compensation Committee and Vice Chair of the Investment Committee. Ms. Mariucci serves as a director of the Arizona State University Foundation and the Fresh Start Women’s Foundation. Ms. Mariucci is a past director of the Arizona State Retirement System, Scottsdale Healthcare and Action Performance Companies, as well as a past trustee of the Urban Land Institute. She also served on the Arizona Board of Regents. Ms. Mariucci holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from the University of Arizona and completed the corporate finance program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

In making the decision to nominate Ms. Mariucci to serve as a director, our Nominating and Governance Committee considered, in addition to the criteria referred to above, her public company executive leadership experience; her understanding of and experience with the State of Arizona, a state where a

significant portion of our operations is located; her background in accounting and corporate finance; her experience and knowledge with real estate; her experience as a public company director and member of audit and compensation committees; her civic and community involvement; and her contribution to the Board’s gender diversity.

Mr. Marshall, age 65, has served as a director since December 2002, and serves as Chair of our Risk Committee and as a member of our Nominating and Governance Committee. Mr. Marshall also serves as a member of our DEI Committee. Until his retirement in 2019, he served as a partner in the Washington D.C. office of the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, and a principal in the firm’s Morgan Lewis Consulting Group LLC, which assists business clients with communications, political and legal strategies. Mr. Marshall has held appointments in all three branches of the federal government. Prior to joining a predecessor of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in 2001, he served as Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary from 1997 to 2001. Mr. Marshall has served as Director of Legislative Affairs and Deputy Counsel to the Vice President, and as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the Senate Government Affairs Committee. In 2006, he was confirmed by the United States Senate to serve on the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service and served as Chair prior to completing his service in 2013. Mr. Marshall serves as a director of Genesco Inc., a publicly traded retailer of footwear, apparel and accessories. He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Ford Foundation and the Ethics & Compliance Certification Institute. Mr. Marshall serves as a trustee on four non-profit boards – The Third Way, Campaign Legal Center, President Lincoln’s Cottage and the DC Grays. Mr. Marshall holds a bachelor’s degree and a juris doctor from the University of Virginia and served as a law clerk for United States District Judge Barrington D. Parker.

In making the decision to nominate Mr. Marshall to serve as a director, our Nominating and Governance Committee considered, in addition to the criteria referred to above, his understanding of politics and the public sector through his varied government service and consulting work; his understanding of organizational governance and oversight through his service as a director in the public, non-profit and for-profit sectors; his understanding of legal, regulatory and compliance issues through his education and experience as a lawyer; and his contribution to the Board’s cultural diversity. The Board also considered Mr. Marshall’s extensive experience with and expertise in human rights issues, including his service as a board member of the American Bar Association’s Center for Human Rights, his work focusing on human rights issues as a staff member for Senator Edward M. Kennedy and his service in the Administration of President Clinton in various roles affecting United States human rights policy.

Mr. Murphy, age 62, joined our Board of Directors in November 2018 and serves on our Audit and Risk Committees. Mr. Murphy also serves on our Special Litigation Committee. He is President of Phillips Edison & Company, a NASDAQ listed real estate investment trust that is one of the nation's largest owners and operators of grocery anchored shopping centers. Prior to being named President of Phillips Edison in March 2019, Mr. Murphy served as Chief Financial Officer for six years. Before joining Phillips Edison in 2013, Mr. Murphy worked for 28 years as an investment banker and held senior leadership roles at Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank. He was the Global Head of Real Estate Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank. His Deutsche Bank team executed over 500 transactions of all types for clients representing total transaction volume exceeding $400 billion including initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, common stock offerings and secured and unsecured debt offerings. Mr. Murphy began his banking career at Morgan Stanley in 1986 and held a number of senior positions including Vice Chairman, co-head of US Real Estate Investment Banking and Head of Real Estate Private Capital Markets. He also served on the Investment Committee of the Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds, a series of global private real estate funds

with over $35 billion in assets under management. During his 20 years with Morgan Stanley, Mr. Murphy and his teams executed numerous capital markets and mergers and acquisition transactions including a number of industry defining transactions. Mr. Murphy is an Independent Director of Apartment Income REIT Corp (AIRC), a NYSE listed apartment REIT and serves on the Audit, Compensation and Nominating Committees of AIRC. Mr. Murphy received a Bachelor of Arts in English and History with Honors from the College of William and Mary and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.

In making the decision to nominate Mr. Murphy to serve as a director, the Nominating and Governance Committee considered, in addition to the criteria above, his executive leadership of real estate and finance-focused organizations; his leadership experience as president of a public company; his knowledge of and experience in real estate, corporate finance, capital markets, and corporate governance; and his high-level leadership roles in complex merger and acquisition transactions and activities.

Mr. Prann, age 71, has served as a director since December 2000, and serves as Chair of our Audit Committee. He also serves as a member of our Compensation Committee. From 2009 to 2016, Mr. Prann served as Chair of the Board of Directors of a privately held motorsports business. From 2012 to 2014, Mr. Prann served as a Senior Advisor to The Pritzker Group, a private capital, venture capital and asset management firm. From 1993 to 2001, Mr. Prann served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Katy Industries, Inc., a publicly traded manufacturer and distributor of consumer products and maintenance cleaning products. Mr. Prann also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of CRL, Inc., a diversified holding company that held a 25% interest in Katy Industries, Inc. Mr. Prann served as a director of CPAC, Inc., a publicly traded chemicals and equipment business, and Dynojet Research, Inc. He has served as a partner with the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche. Mr. Prann holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, Riverside, and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago.

In making the decision to nominate Mr. Prann to serve as a director, our Nominating and Governance Committee considered, in addition to the criteria referred to above, his executive leadership experience as president and chief executive of a public company and his understanding of accounting and finance issues through his education and career.

Mr. Overby, age 75, has served as a director since December 2001. He served as chair of our Nominating and Governance Committee until May 2021 and currently serves as a member of that committee, our Executive Committee, our Risk Committee and our Special Litigation Committee. From 1989 until 2011, Mr. Overby served as Chief Executive Officer of The Freedom Forum, an independent, non-partisan foundation dedicated to the First Amendment and media issues, and its predecessor, The Gannett Foundation. Mr. Overby served from 1997 to 2011 as Chief Executive Officer of The Freedom Forum’s affiliate, Newseum, an interactive museum in Washington, D.C. committed to educating visitors on free expression and the First Amendment. Prior to leading The Freedom Forum, Mr. Overby served for 16 years as a reporter, editor and corporate executive with Gannett Co., Inc., the nation’s largest newspaper company and publisher of USA TODAY, including roles as a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor at The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi. Mr. Overby serves as Chairman of the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics at the University of Mississippi and on the Board of Trustees of the Andrew Jackson Foundation. Mr. Overby holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi.

Under the Company’s Bylaws, a majority of all of the votes cast at the virtual Annual Meeting is required for the election of each nominee in an uncontested election of directors. A majority of votes cast means the number of shares cast “for” a nominee’s election exceeds the number of votes cast “against” that nominee. Brokers do not have discretionary authority to vote on the election of directors. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of the vote of the election of directors as they are not considered votes cast.

If a director nominee is an incumbent director and does not receive a majority of the votes cast in an uncontested election, that director will continue to serve on our Board as a “holdover” director but must tender his or her resignation to our Board promptly after certification of the election results of the stockholder vote. The Nominating and Governance Committee of our Board will then recommend to our Board whether to accept the resignation or whether other action should be taken. Our Board will act on the tendered resignation, taking into account the recommendation of our Nominating and Governance Committee, and our Board’s decision will be publicly disclosed within 90 days after certification of the election results of the stockholder vote. A director who tenders his or her resignation after failing to receive a majority of the votes cast will not participate in the recommendation of our Nominating and Governance Committee or the decision of our Board with respect to his or her resignation.

Our Audit Committee has appointed Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Services provided to the Company and its subsidiaries by Ernst & Young LLP in fiscal 2021 are described below under “Audit Matters.”

Representatives of Ernst & Young LLP will be present at the virtual Annual Meeting via webcast. They will have the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so, and we expect that they will be available to respond to questions.

Ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP requires the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares present in person via attendance at the virtual Annual Meeting or represented by proxy at the virtual Annual Meeting and entitled to vote. Brokers, banks and other nominees generally have discretionary authority to vote on this proposal. If you abstain from voting on this proposal, your abstention will have the same effect as a vote against the proposal. If the Company’s stockholders do not ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP, our Audit Committee will reconsider the appointment and may affirm the appointment or retain another independent accounting firm, in its sole discretion. Even if the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP is ratified, our Audit Committee may in the future replace Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm at any time if it determines that a change would be in our best interest.

The following table presents fees for audit, audit-related, tax and other services rendered by the Company’s principal independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP, for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:

Consistent with Section 202 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and SEC rules regarding auditor independence, our Audit Committee pre-approves all audit and non-audit services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm. In 2021 and 2020, our Audit Committee pre-approved all amounts disclosed under “audit,” “audit-related,” “tax” and “all other” fees by Ernst & Young, LLP in accordance with applicable rules.

Our Audit Committee’s Auditor Independence Policy prohibits our independent registered public accounting firm from performing certain non-audit services and any services that have not been approved by our Audit Committee in accordance with the policy and the Section 202 rules. The policy establishes procedures to ensure that proposed services are brought before our Audit Committee for consideration and, if determined by our Audit Committee to be consistent with the auditor’s independence, approved prior to initiation, and to ensure that our Audit Committee has adequate information to assess the types of services being performed and fee amounts on an ongoing basis. Our Audit Committee has delegated to its Chair, Mr. Prann, the authority to pre-approve services between meetings when necessary, provided the full Audit Committee is apprised of the services approved at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

The following Report of the Audit Committee does not constitute soliciting material and should not be deemed filed or incorporated by reference into any other Company filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent the Company specifically incorporates this Report by reference therein.

As part of its oversight of our financial statements, our Audit Committee reviews and discusses with both management and our independent registered public accounting firm all annual and quarterly financial statements prior to their issuance. With respect to the 2021 fiscal year, management advised the Audit Committee that each set of financial statements reviewed had been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and reviewed significant accounting and disclosure issues with our Audit Committee. These reviews included discussion with the independent registered public accounting firm of matters required to be discussed pursuant to Auditing Standard No. 1301 (Communications with Audit Committees), as amended, including the quality of our accounting principles, the reasonableness of significant judgments and the clarity of disclosures in the financial statements. Our Audit Committee also received the written disclosures and a letter from Ernst & Young LLP required by applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding its communications with our Audit Committee concerning independence and has discussed with Ernst & Young LLP its independence.

Also, with respect to fiscal 2021, our Audit Committee received periodic updates on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting provided by management, the independent registered public accounting firm and the internal auditors at each regularly scheduled Audit Committee meeting and provided oversight during the process. At the conclusion of the process, management provided our Audit Committee with, and our Audit Committee reviewed a report on, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our Audit Committee also reviewed Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting and Ernst & Young LLP’s Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Taking all of these reviews and discussions into account, the undersigned Committee members recommended to our Board that our Board approve the inclusion of our audited financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 for filing with the SEC.

Submitted by the Audit Committee:

John R. Prann, Jr., Chair

Donna M. Alvarado

Anne L. Mariucci

Devin I. Murphy

The Company seeks your non-binding advisory vote and asks that you support the compensation of our Named Executive Officers as disclosed in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis section (the “CD&A”) and the accompanying tables contained in this Proxy Statement. At our 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, our stockholders indicated on an advisory basis their preference that advisory votes to approve the compensation of our Named Executive Officers occur every year. Taking into account the non-binding advisory input of our stockholders and other relevant factors, our Board has determined to hold this advisory vote every year. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares present in person via attendance at the virtual Annual Meeting or represented by proxy at the virtual Annual Meeting and entitled to vote is required to approve the non-binding advisory vote of compensation paid to our Named Executive Officers. Broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of this proposal. If you abstain from voting on this proposal, your abstention will have the same effect as a vote against the proposal.

Because your vote is advisory, it will not be binding on our Compensation Committee. However, our Compensation Committee will review the voting results and take them into consideration when making future decisions regarding executive compensation for our Named Executive Officers. We urge you to read the CD&A, which begins on page 51 of this Proxy Statement, and other sections of this Proxy Statement that provide additional details on our executive compensation, including our compensation philosophy and objectives and the 2021 compensation of our Named Executive Officers.

As described in detail in the CD&A, our executive compensation programs are designed to ensure our executive officers are rewarded appropriately for their contributions to us, and that our overall compensation strategy supports the objectives and values of our organization, as well as stockholder interests. Our programs are designed to attract and retain executive leadership who will execute our business strategy, uphold our values and deliver results and long-term value to our stockholders. Our goal is to have a substantial portion of executive compensation contingent upon our performance.

Our Compensation Committee continually reviews the compensation programs for our Named Executive Officers to ensure our programs achieve the desired goals of aligning our executive compensation structure with our stockholders’ interests and current market practices. Our Compensation Committee has engaged an independent compensation consultant from time to time to assist it in reviewing and assessing, as well as providing advice and guidance on the design and market competitiveness of, our compensation strategies and plans.

We believe our executive compensation programs are structured in the best manner possible to align the interests of our management team with those of our stockholders in the management of our business, the pursuit of our strategic objectives and the creation of long-term value.

Stockholders are being asked to vote on the adoption of the following resolution:

RESOLVED: That the stockholders of CoreCivic, Inc. approve the compensation of the Company’s Named Executive Officers, as described in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis section and related compensation tables, notes and narrative in the Proxy Statement for the Company’s 2022 virtual Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

We are asking our shareholders to approve an amendment and restatement of the CoreCivic, Inc. 2020 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Amended Plan”), to increase the number of shares that are reserved under the plan. In this proposal, we refer to the CoreCivic, Inc. 2020 Stock Incentive Plan as the “2020 Plan.”

One of our general compensation philosophies is that a significant portion of the total compensation paid to each of our executive officers should be in the form of “at risk” pay in order to create proper incentives for our executives to achieve corporate and strategic performance objectives, and to maximize stockholder value over the long-term. We further believe that each executive’s long-term incentive compensation should be closely aligned with our stockholders’ interests, as more fully described in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis beginning on page 51 below.

Participants in our long-term incentive compensation program generally include our executive officers, certain of our management-level employees, and our non-employee directors. We believe that the utilization of equity-based incentive compensation has been effective over the years in enabling us to- attract and retain the talent critical to the Company, and that stock ownership has focused our key employees on improving our performance and helped create a culture that encourages our officers and employees to think and act as stockholders.

Background. In May 2020, our stockholders approved the 2020 Plan. There were initially 4,694,320 shares (which included (i) 2,500,000 shares authorized pursuant to the 2020 Plan, and (ii) 2,194,320 shares authorized and available for grant as of March 18, 2020, under the CoreCivic, Inc. Second Amended and Restated 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (for purposes of this Proposal 4, the “Prior Plan”), less (iii) any shares (adjusted based on the “fungible share ratio” provision in the Prior Plan¹) granted under the Prior Plan after March 18, 2020). Upon our stockholders’ approval of the 2020 Plan, no further grants were permitted to be made under the Prior Plan. As of February 28, 2022, a net of 3,804,830 shares available for issuance under the 2020 Plan have been granted, leaving 889,490 shares available for issuance under the 2020 Plan. As a result, upon the recommendation and approval of the Compensation Committee of the Board (for purposes of this Proposal 4, the “Committee”), our Board adopted, subject to the approval of stockholders at the virtual Annual Meeting, the Amended Plan to increase the number of shares available for issuance under the 2020 Plan by 5,900,000 shares. This amendment and restatement of the 2020 Plan is to ensure that we can continue to offer equity-based incentive compensation at appropriate levels as determined by the Committee. The additional shares requested represent approximately 4.9% of our common stock outstanding as of March 16, 2022. Our Board is seeking stockholder approval of the Amended Plan in accordance with the NYSE Listed Company Manual.

Our Board and our Committee believe that the current share reserve under the 2020 Plan is insufficient to meet the future needs of the Company to attract and retain talented employees as well as to provide incentives for our employees to exert maximum efforts for our success and ultimately increase stockholder value. We believe that increasing the shares reserved for issuance by an additional 5,900,000 shares will provide us enough shares to continue to offer competitive equity compensation through 2024. This calculation is based on the average rate at which time-based and performance-based awards were granted, vested and canceled over the past three

fiscal years. However, future events, including changes to our business, stock price, equity grant practices of our competitors and other changes in circumstances, may affect the period of time during which sufficient authorized shares remain available under the Amended Plan.

If our stockholders do not approve the Amended Plan, compensatory grants may continue to be made under the 2020 Plan to the extent that shares of common stock remain available for grant under the 2020 Plan. As of February 28, 2022, 889,490 shares of common stock remained available for grant under the 2020 Plan, which has an expiration date of May 14, 2030. However, the number of shares of common stock under the 2020 Plan is not sufficient to meet our anticipated needs with respect to our equity compensation program beyond 2022. As a result, if our stockholders do not approve the proposed share increase under the Amended Plan, we believe we will not be able to continue to offer competitive equity compensation packages to retain our current employees and hire new employees, and that we may not be competitive with other companies that offer equity beyond 2022. We believe that this could significantly impede our plans for growth and adversely affect our ability to operate our business.

The Amended Plan (like the 2020 Plan) will allow us to offer equity-based compensation to our officers, employees, directors and consultants in the form of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted share awards, restricted share unit awards, performance awards, performance units and other stock-based awards. The proposal to approve the Amended Plan does not imply that we intend to materially alter our compensation practices, although, as is the case under the 2020 Plan prior to the amendment and restatement, the Company and the Committee maintain the ability to do so.

Key Terms of the Amended Plan. Key features of the Amended Plan (and, where applicable, changes from the 2020 Plan prior to the amendment and restatement) are highlighted below.

We recognize that equity-based compensation programs dilute stockholder equity and need to be used judiciously. We manage our long-term dilution by considering the number of shares subject to equity-based awards that we grant annually, commonly expressed as a percentage of total shares outstanding and referred to as burn rate. Burn rate is a key measure of dilution that shows how rapidly a company is depleting its shares reserved for equity-based compensation plans, and differs from annual dilution because it does not take into account cancellations and other shares returned to the reserve. We believe our historical share utilization rate has been prudent and mindful of stockholder interests.

Burn Rate Information. The table below sets forth information regarding historical awards granted in 2021, 2020 and 2019 and the corresponding Unadjusted Burn Rate and Adjusted Burn Rate (as such terms are defined below):

In addition, in fiscal year 2022 through February 28, 2022, we have granted 2,076,422 RSUs. On March 16, 2022, the closing price of a share of common stock on the NYSE was $9.40 per share.

Overhang Information–2020 Plan. An additional metric that we use to measure the cumulative impact of our equity incentive program is overhang. Our actual overhang as of December 31, 2021 was 5.19%, which is calculated as (i) the sum of (A) all equity-based awards outstanding (300,741 stock options and 3,464,859 RSUs⁶), and (B) the total number of shares available to be granted under the 2020 Plan (2,812,906), divided by (ii) the sum of the total number of our common shares outstanding (120,284,765), plus (A) and (B). Our actual overhang as of February 28, 2022 was 4.33%.

Overhang Information–Amended Plan (as of February 28, 2022). As of February 28, 2022 (taking into account the impact of the amendment and restatement of the 2020 Plan (assuming the Amended Plan is adopted by our stockholders at the virtual Annual Meeting) and including the remaining 889,490 currently authorized shares under the 2020 Plan), our overhang would have been 8.58%, which is calculated as (i) the sum of (A) all equity-based awards outstanding (300,741 stock options with a weighted average exercise price of $22.77 and weighted average remaining term of 0.1 years and 4,303,486 RSUs⁶) and (B) the total number of shares available to be granted under the Amended Plan, prior to reduction for any awards granted after February 28, 2022 (6,789,490), divided by (ii) the sum of the total number of our common shares outstanding on the record date (121,369,554), plus (A) and (B).

The Company believes that the burn rate and overhang referenced above reflect the sound compensation practices of the Company and represent a judicious use of equity for compensation purposes.

In determining to amend and restate the 2020 Plan and recommend the Amended Plan to our stockholders for their approval, the Committee and the Board considered various factors, including the number and type of awards made by us in recent years under the 2020 Plan and the Prior Plan, the share reserve currently remaining under the 2020 Plan and our anticipated needs with respect to our equity compensation program in future years, the volatility experienced in our share price since the adoption of the 2020 Plan, our burn rate, our overhang (including our potential overhang if the Amended Plan is approved by our stockholders), and the guidelines of certain proxy advisory firms.

The following is a summary of the principal features of the Amended Plan. The following summary is not a complete description of all the provisions of the Amended Plan and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Amended Plan, a copy of which is attached hereto as Appendix B and incorporated herein by reference.

Purpose. The primary purpose of the Amended Plan is to promote the interests of the Company, its subsidiaries and its stockholders by, among other things, (i) attracting and retaining key officers, employees and directors of, and consultants to, the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates, (ii) motivating those individuals by means of incentives to achieve long-range performance targets, (iii) enabling such individuals to participate in the long-term growth and financial success of the Company, (iv) encouraging ownership of stock in the Company by such individuals, and (v) linking the compensation of those individuals to the long-term interests of the Company and its stockholders.

Shares Available for Awards under the Amended Plan. Under the Amended Plan, awards may be made in common stock of the Company. Subject to adjustment as provided by the terms of the Amended Plan, the maximum aggregate number of shares of common stock with respect to which awards may be granted under the Amended Plan (the “Share Reserve”) will be (a) 6,789,490 shares (which includes (i) 5,900,000 shares newly authorized by the Amended Plan, and (ii) 889,490 shares currently authorized and remaining available for grant as of February 28, 2022 under the 2020 Plan), less (b) one (1) share for every share that was subject to an award granted pursuant to the 2020 Plan after February 28, 2022. Each share subject to the grant of an award under the Amended Plan shall reduce the Share Reserve by one (1) share. If an award entitles the holder thereof to receive or purchase shares, the number of shares covered by such award or to which such award relates shall be counted on the date of grant of such award against the aggregate number of shares available for awards under the Amended Plan; provided, however, that the number of shares covered by a performance award or to which such performance award relates shall be counted against the aggregate number of shares available for awards under the Amended Plan on the date such performance awards vest. Shares issued by the Company as substitute awards granted solely in connection with the assumption of outstanding awards previously granted by an entity acquired by the Company, or with which the Company combines (“Substitute Awards”), do not reduce the number of shares available for awards under the Amended Plan.

The Share Reserve shall be increased by the number of shares with respect to which awards were granted under the Amended Plan (including the 2020 Plan) or the Prior Plan but which terminate, expire unexercised, or are settled for cash, forfeited or canceled without delivery of the shares. Any such share that is added back to the Share Reserve will be added as one (1) share.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, shares relating to any award under the Amended Plan, the 2020 Plan or the Prior Plan will not again become available for awards under the Amended Plan in the following

circumstances: (1) shares tendered or withheld in payment of the option price of an option: (2) shares tendered or withheld to satisfy any tax withholding obligation with respect to options or SARs; (3) shares repurchased by the Company with proceeds received from the exercise of an option; and (4) shares subject to a SAR that are not issued in connection with the stock settlement of that SAR upon its exercise. To the extent that any shares subject to a full-value award (i.e., an award other than an option or SAR) are tendered or withheld to satisfy any tax withholding obligation, then in each such case, the shares so tendered or withheld will again become available for future awards under the Amended Plan.

With certain limitations, the Share Reserve and awards made under the Amended Plan may be adjusted to prevent dilution or enlargement of benefits or potential benefits intended to be made available under the Amended Plan in the event of any non-recurring dividend or other distribution, reorganization, recapitalization, stock split, reverse stock split, combination, merger, consolidation, or other similar corporate transaction or event that affects the shares subject to awards under the Amended Plan.

Eligibility and Administration. Current and prospective officers and employees, and directors of, and consultants to, the Company or its subsidiaries or affiliates are eligible to be granted awards under the Amended Plan. As of February 28, 2022, approximately 176 individuals were eligible to participate in the Amended Plan. However, the Company has not at the present time determined who will receive the shares of common stock that will be authorized for issuance under the Amended Plan or how they will be allocated.

The Committee will administer the Amended Plan, except with respect to awards to non-employee directors, for which the Amended Plan will be administered by the Board. The Committee will be composed of not less than two non-employee directors, at least two of whom shall qualify as a “non-employee director” for purposes of Exchange Act Section 16 and Rule 16b-3 thereunder, and each of whom shall be “independent” within the meaning of the listing standards of the NYSE. Subject to the terms of the Amended Plan, the Committee is authorized to select participants, determine the type and number of awards to be granted, determine and later amend (subject to certain limitations) the terms and conditions of any award, interpret and specify the rules and regulations relating to the Amended Plan, and make all other determinations which may be necessary or desirable for the administration of the Amended Plan. The Committee may delegate to one or more officers or managers of the Company (or of any subsidiary or affiliate), or to a committee of such officers or managers, the authority to grant awards or to cancel, modify or waive rights with respect to, or to alter, discontinue, suspend or terminate awards held by participants other than those who are considered our officers or directors for purposes of Exchange Act Section 16 or who are otherwise not subject to Exchange Act Section 16, subject to certain other limitations.

Minimum Vesting Period. Except for Substitute Awards, in connection with the death or disability of a participant, or in the event of a Change in Control (as defined in the Amended Plan), no award will have a vesting period of less than one year from the date of grant (inclusive of any performance periods related thereto); provided, that the Committee has the discretion to waive this requirement with respect to an award at or after grant, so long as the total number of shares that are issued pursuant to awards having an originally stated vesting period of less than one year from the date of grant (inclusive of any performance periods related thereto) shall not exceed 5% of the Share Reserve.

Non-Employee Director Compensation Limit. The aggregate value of all compensation paid or granted, as applicable, to any individual for service as a non-employee director with respect to any calendar year, including equity-based awards granted and cash fees paid by the Company to such non-employee director, will not exceed $500,000 in value, calculating the value of any awards granted under the Amended Plan based on the grant date fair value of such awards for financial reporting purposes. The Board may make exceptions to this applicable limit described above for individual non-employee directors in extraordinary circumstances, such as where any such non-employee director is serving on a special litigation or

transactions committee of the Board, as the Board may determine in its discretion, provided that the non-employee director receiving such additional compensation may not participate in the decision to award such compensation involving such non-employee director.

Stock Options and Stock Appreciation Rights. The Committee is authorized to grant stock options, including both incentive stock options which can result in potentially favorable tax treatment to the participant, and non-qualified stock options, to participants in the Amended Plan (except that incentive stock options may only be granted to our employees, subject to applicable requirements of the Code). The Committee may specify the terms of such grants subject to the terms of the Amended Plan. The Committee is also authorized to grant SARs, either with or without a related option. The grant of a stock option or SAR will occur when the Committee by appropriate action determines to grant a participant a stock option or SAR and establishes the number of shares and option price or grant price of such award, or on such later date as the Committee may specify. The option price per share subject to an option or grant price per share subject to a SAR is determined by the Committee, but may not be less than the fair market value of a share of common stock on the date of the grant.

Except in connection with corporate transactions involving the Company (such as a stock dividend, stock split, reverse stock split, extraordinary cash dividend, recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation, split up, spin off, combination or exchange of shares), the Committee shall not have the power to (i) amend the terms of previously granted options or SARs to reduce the option price of such options or the grant price of such SARs, (ii) cancel such options or SARs in exchange for a cash payment or any other award, including substitute options or SARs with a lower option price than the canceled options, or a lower grant price than the canceled SARs, or (iii) take any other action with respect to an option or SAR that would be treated as a repricing under the rules and regulations of the NYSE or the principal securities exchange on which the shares are traded, in each case without the approval of the Company’s stockholders.

The term of each option or SAR, the times at which each option or SAR will be exercisable, and the provisions requiring forfeiture of unexercised options at or following termination of employment generally are fixed by the Committee, except that no option or SAR may have a term exceeding 10 years (provided that under certain circumstances the period of time over which an option or SAR may be exercised will be automatically extended if the scheduled expiration date of the award exercise would violate applicable securities law, subject to certain limitations as described in the Amended Plan).

A stock option or SAR may be exercised in whole or in part at any time, with respect to whole shares only, within the period permitted thereunder for the exercise thereof. Stock options and SARs shall be exercised by written notice of intent to exercise the stock option or SAR and, with respect to options, payment in full to the Company of the amount of the option price for the number of shares with respect to which the option is then being exercised.

Payment of the option price must be made (i) in cash or cash equivalents, (ii) at the discretion of the Committee, by transfer, either actually or by attestation, to the Company of unencumbered shares previously acquired by the participant valued at the fair market value of such shares on the date of exercise (or next succeeding trading date, if the date of exercise is not a trading date), together with any applicable withholding taxes, such transfer to be upon such terms and conditions as determined by the Committee, (iii) by a combination of such cash (or cash equivalents) and shares, or (iv) at the discretion of the Committee and subject to applicable securities laws, by (A) delivering a notice of exercise of the option and simultaneously selling the shares thereby acquired, pursuant to a brokerage or similar agreement approved in advance by proper officers of the Company, using the proceeds of such sale as payment of the

option price, together with any applicable withholding taxes or (B) the Company withholding shares otherwise deliverable to the participant pursuant to the option having an aggregate fair market value at the time of exercise equal to the total option price together with any applicable withholding taxes. Until the participant has been issued the shares subject to such option exercise, he or she shall possess no rights as a stockholder with respect to such shares.

Generally, options and SARs shall not be (i) transferable otherwise than by will or the laws of descent and distribution, or (ii) exercisable during the participant’s lifetime by anyone other than the participant. Under certain conditions, non-qualified stock options granted to a participant may be transferred by such participant to a permitted transferee (which includes family members and trusts, partnerships, or other entities in which the participant or the family member has more than fifty percent of the beneficial interest). A permitted transferee may not further assign or transfer any such non-qualified stock options otherwise than by will or the laws of descent and distribution. Following the transfer of non-qualified stock options to a permitted transferee, such non-qualified stock options shall continue to be subject to the same terms and conditions that applied to them prior to their transfer by the participant, except that they shall be exercisable by the permitted transferee to whom such transfer was made rather than by the transferring participant.

Restricted Shares and Restricted Share Units. The Committee is authorized to grant restricted shares of common stock and restricted share units, or RSUs. Restricted shares are shares of common stock subject to transfer restrictions as well as forfeiture upon certain terminations of employment (or other service-providing capacity) prior to the end of a restricted period or other conditions specified by the Committee in the award agreement. A participant granted an award of restricted shares of common stock generally has many of the rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to the restricted shares, including the right to receive dividends and the right to vote such shares. However, none of the restricted shares may be transferred for value, encumbered or disposed of (other than pursuant to will or the laws of descent and distribution) during the restricted period or until after fulfillment of the restrictive conditions.

Each RSU has a value equal to the fair market value of a share of common stock on the date of grant. The Committee determines, in its sole discretion, the restrictions applicable to the RSUs. The applicable award agreement will specify whether a participant will be entitled to receive dividend equivalent rights in respect of any RSUs at the time of any payment of dividends to stockholders on shares. If the applicable award agreement specifies that a participant will be entitled to receive dividend equivalent rights, (i) the amount of any such dividend equivalent right shall equal the amount that would be payable to the participant as a stockholder in respect of a number of shares equal to the number of RSUs then credited to the participant, and (ii) no dividend equivalents shall be paid on unvested RSUs until (and only to the extent) such RSUs have vested. Except as determined otherwise by the Committee, RSUs may not be transferred, encumbered or disposed of. In addition, except as may otherwise be provided in an award agreement, such units will terminate, without further obligation on the part of the Company, unless the participant remains in continuous employment (or other service-providing capacity) of the Company for the entire restricted period and any other restrictive conditions relating to the RSUs are met.

Performance Awards. A performance award consists of a right that is denominated in cash or shares of common stock, valued in accordance with the achievement of certain performance objectives during certain performance periods as established by the Committee, and payable at such time and in such form as the Committee shall determine. Performance awards may be paid in a lump sum or in installments following the close of a performance period or on a deferred basis, as determined by the Committee. Termination of employment (or other service-providing capacity) prior to the end of any performance period, other than for reasons of death or total disability, will result in the forfeiture of the performance

award, except as otherwise determined by the Committee. A participant’s rights to any performance award may not be transferred, encumbered or disposed of in any manner, except by will or the laws of descent and distribution or as the Committee may otherwise determine.

Performance awards are subject to certain specific terms and conditions under the Amended Plan. Performance objectives that may be used to determine the extent to which performance awards will vest under the Amended Plan include, but are not limited to, the following (including ratios or other relationships between one or more, or a combination, of the following examples of performance objectives, which may be measured on an absolute basis or relative to peer companies or specific business units of peer companies): earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and/or amortization (“EBITDA”) or adjusted EBITDA; funds from operations (“FFO”) or adjusted FFO; operating income or profit; operating efficiencies; return on equity, assets, capital, capital employed or investment; after tax operating income; net income; earnings or book value per share; utilization; net investment income; gross profit; loan loss ratios; stock price or total stockholder return; net asset growth; debt reduction; individual performance; environmental, social and governance related objectives; strategic business objectives, consisting of one or more objectives based on meeting specified cost targets, business expansion goals and goals relating to acquisitions or divestitures; or any combination thereof. If the Committee determines that a change in the business, operations, corporate structure or capital structure of the Company, or the manner in which it conducts its business, or other events or circumstances render the performance objectives unsuitable, the Committee may in its discretion modify such performance objectives or the acceptable levels of achievement, in whole or in part, as the Committee deems appropriate and equitable.

Other Stock-Based Awards. The Committee is authorized to grant any other type of awards that are denominated or payable in, valued by reference to, or otherwise based on or related to shares of common stock. The Committee will determine the terms and conditions of such awards, consistent with the terms of the Amended Plan.

Non-Employee Director Awards. Subject to applicable legal requirements and the limits on compensation paid to non-employee directors as noted above, the Board may provide that all or a portion of a non-employee director’s annual retainer, meeting fees and/or other awards or compensation as determined by the Board be payable in non-qualified stock options, restricted shares, RSUs and/or other stock-based awards, including unrestricted shares, either automatically or at the option of the non-employee directors. The Board will determine the terms and conditions of any such awards, including those that apply upon the termination of a non-employee director’s service as a member of the Board.

Termination of Employment. The Committee will determine the terms and conditions that apply to any award upon the termination of employment (or other service-providing capacity) with the Company, its subsidiaries and affiliates, and provide such terms in the applicable award agreement or in its rules or regulations.

Change in Control. Unless otherwise provided in an award agreement at or after grant, or by the Committee by resolution prior to a “Change in Control” (as defined in the Amended Plan), a Change in Control shall not affect the vesting or exercisability of, or restrictions applicable to, outstanding awards.

Subject to certain qualifications and exceptions set forth in the Amended Plan, the Amended Plan defines a “Change in Control” to mean:

Amendment and Termination. The Board may amend, alter, suspend, discontinue or terminate the Amended Plan or any portion of the Amended Plan at any time, except that stockholder approval must be obtained for any such action if such approval is necessary to comply with any tax or regulatory requirement with which the Board deems it desirable or necessary to comply (including the rules and regulations of the NYSE). Subject to certain restrictions, the Committee may waive any conditions or rights under, amend any terms of, or alter, suspend, discontinue, cancel or terminate any award, either prospectively or retroactively; however, the Committee may not materially and adversely affect the rights of any participant without the affected participant’s consent.

Forfeiture Events. Any award granted pursuant to the Amended Plan shall be subject to mandatory repayment by the participant to the Company (i) to the extent set forth in any award agreement, (ii) to the extent that such participant is, or in the future becomes, subject to (a) any “clawback” or recoupment policy adopted by the Company or any affiliate thereof to comply with the requirements of any applicable laws, rules or regulations, including final SEC rules adopted pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or otherwise, or (b) any applicable laws which impose mandatory recoupment, under circumstances set forth in such applicable laws, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Other Terms of Awards. The Company may take action, including the withholding of amounts from any award made under the Amended Plan, to satisfy withholding and other tax obligations.

Effective Date. The Amended Plan will become effective as of May 12, 2022, provided that the Amended Plan has been approved by the Company’s stockholders at the virtual Annual Meeting. No new awards may be granted under the Amended Plan after May 14, 2030, the tenth anniversary of the effective date of the 2020 Plan.

The following is a brief summary of certain federal income tax aspects of awards under the Amended Plan based upon the United States federal income tax laws in effect on the date hereof. This summary is not intended to be exhaustive and the exact tax consequences to any participant will depend upon his or her particular circumstances and other factors. Participants may also be subject to certain United States state and local taxes and foreign taxes, which are not described herein. The Amended Plan participants are encouraged to consult their own tax advisors with respect to any state tax considerations or particular federal tax implications of awards granted under the Amended Plan.

Stock Options. The grant of a stock option with an option price equal to the fair market value of the common stock on the date of grant is not generally a taxable event to the participant or the Company. A participant will not have taxable income as a result of the exercise of an incentive stock option (except that the alternative minimum tax may apply). Upon the exercise of a non-qualified stock option, a participant will recognize ordinary income to the extent that the fair market value of the common stock acquired pursuant to the exercise of the stock option, as of the exercise date, is greater than the option price of the stock option. Any income recognized by the participant as a result of the exercise of a non-qualified stock option will be compensation income and will be subject to income and employment tax withholding at the time the common stock is acquired. Subject to certain limitations, the Company generally is entitled to a deduction in an amount equal to the compensation income recognized by the participant.

Sale of Common Stock. If a participant sells shares of common stock acquired upon exercise of an incentive stock option before the end of two years from the date of grant and one year from the date of exercise, the participant must generally recognize ordinary income equal to the difference between (i) the fair market value of the shares of common stock at the date of exercise of the incentive stock option (or, if less, the amount realized upon the disposition of the common stock received upon such exercise), and (ii) the option price. The Company will generally be entitled to a deduction of the same amount.

The sale or other taxable disposition of common stock acquired upon the exercise of a stock option will be a taxable event to the participant. In general, the participant selling such common stock will recognize gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized by such participant upon such sale or disposition and the participant’s adjusted tax basis in such common stock. A participant’s adjusted tax basis in common stock purchased upon exercise of a stock option will generally be the amount paid for such shares plus the amount, if any, of ordinary income recognized upon the exercise of the option or as a result of the disposition of shares received on the exercise of an incentive stock option for which the required holding periods have not been met. Any such gain or loss resulting from a sale or disposition of common stock obtained by the participant through the exercise of an option, generally will be taxed as capital gain or loss if such common stock was a capital asset in the hands of the participant. This gain or loss will be taxed as long-term capital gain or loss if at the time of any such sale or disposition the participant has held such common stock for more than one year. The time that such participant holds a stock option (rather than the common stock attributable to such stock option) is not taken into account for purposes of determining whether the participant has held such common stock for more than one year. In addition, there are limits on the deductibility of capital losses by the participant.

Stock Appreciation Rights. The grant of a SAR with a grant price at least equal to the fair market value of the common stock on the date of grant is not generally a taxable event to the participant or the Company. The exercise of a SAR will result in the participant recognizing ordinary income on the value of the SAR at the time of exercise. The Company will be allowed a deduction for the amount of ordinary income recognized by a participant with respect to a SAR. The participant generally will also recognize capital gain or loss on the subsequent sale of any common stock acquired through the exercise of a SAR award. For this purpose, the participant’s basis in the common stock is its fair market value at the time the SAR is exercised.

Other Stock-Based Awards. A participant who is granted any other stock-based award that is not subject to any vesting or forfeiture restrictions will generally recognize, in the year of grant (or, if later, payment in case of stock units and similar awards), ordinary income equal to the fair market value of the cash, stock or other property received upon vesting and/or settlement of the award. If such other stock-based award is in the form of property that is subject to restrictions, such as a restricted share award, the participant would not recognize ordinary income until the restrictions lapse, unless the participant makes a Section 83(b) Election (as discussed below). If such other stock-based award is in the form of a restricted share unit or similar award that does not provide for the delivery of shares or cash until a vesting condition has been satisfied or some later date, the participant would not generally recognize ordinary income until the date the vesting condition is satisfied and the shares or cash have been made available to the participant. The Company generally is entitled to a deduction for the amount of ordinary income recognized by the participant with respect to the other stock-based award in the same year as the ordinary income is recognized by the participant.

Performance-Based Awards. Payments made under performance-based awards are taxable as ordinary income at the time an individual attains the performance targets and the payments or shares are issued or made available to, and are transferable by, the participant. Participants receiving performance-based awards settled in shares of the Company’s common stock will recognize ordinary income equal to the fair market value of the shares of the Company’s common stock received as the performance targets are met and such shares vest or are made available to the Participant, less any amount paid by the participant for the performance awards, unless the participant makes a Section 83(b) Election (discussed below) to be taxed at the time of the grant. A Section 83(b) Election may not be available with respect to certain forms of performance awards. The participant will also recognize capital gain or loss on the subsequent sale of any of the Company’s common stock received by a participant as a performance award. Unless a participant makes a Section 83(b) Election, his or her basis in the stock is its fair market value at the time the performance targets are met and the shares become vested or are made available to the Participant.

Section 83(b) Considerations. Participants who acquire shares of common stock subject to a “substantial risk of forfeiture” may make an election under Section 83(b) of the Code (a “Section 83(b) Election”) with respect to such shares within 30 days after the date of acquisition. If common stock acquired pursuant to an award is subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture and a participant does not make a Section 83(b) Election, such participant would be subject to tax at ordinary income rates on the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the common stock, on the date or dates that the common stock becomes free of the transfer and forfeiture restrictions, over the price paid for such common stock, if any. In contrast, a participant who makes the Section 83(b) Election will be required to include in income in the year of grant the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the common stock at grant acquired over the price paid for such common stock, if any, and would not be subject to United States federal income tax upon the lapsing of any such transfer or forfeiture restrictions. Any further appreciation in the fair market value of such common stock generally will be taxed as a capital gain, rather than as ordinary income, as discussed more fully above. A Section 83(b) Election may be disadvantageous, however, if the participant was required to include amounts in income as a result of making the Section 83(b) Election and the common stock subsequently decreases in value, inasmuch as any losses recognized on a subsequent disposition of such common stock would be capital losses, the deductibility of which is subject to certain limitations. Additionally, if the participant ultimately forfeits the common stock, no deduction will be available to such participant with respect to any income inclusion that resulted from the Section 83(b) Election.

A Section 83(b) Election may not be available with respect to certain forms of awards. There can be no assurances as to whether the applicable tax rates will change or whether the value of the common stock will appreciate. A participant who purchases or is issued common stock subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture is urged to consult his or her personal tax advisor regarding the effects of a Section 83(b) Election.

Tax Consequences to the Company. For a discussion of the tax consequences applicable to us in connection with executive compensation pursuant to Section 162(m) of the Code, see Executive and Director Compensation—Guidelines and Policies—Deductibility of Executive Compensation below. The foregoing discussion is general in nature and is not intended to be a complete description of the Federal income tax consequences of the Amended Plan. This discussion does not address the effects of other Federal taxes or taxes imposed under state, local or foreign tax laws. Participants in the Amended Plan are urged to consult a tax advisor as to the tax consequences of participation. The Amended Plan is not intended to be a “qualified plan” under Section 401(a) of the Code.

The terms and number of awards to be granted under the Amended Plan are to be determined at the discretion of the Committee. Since no such determinations regarding future awards or grants have been made, the benefits that will be paid or awarded under the Amended Plan are not currently determinable.

The approval of the Amended Plan requires the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares present in person via attendance at the virtual Annual Meeting or represented by proxy at the virtual Annual Meeting and entitled to vote. If you abstain from voting on this matter, your abstention will have the same effect as a vote against the proposal. Broker non-votes will not impact the outcome of this matter.

The following table sets forth our executive officers as of March 30, 2022:

Set forth below are the biographies of each of our current executive officers, except for Mr. Hininger, whose biography is set forth under “Proposal 1 – Election of Directors.”

David M. Garfinkle, age 54, has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since May 1, 2014. Mr. Garfinkle served as the Company’s Vice President of Finance and Controller from February 2001 to May 2014. From 1996 to 2001, Mr. Garfinkle served as Vice President and Controller for Bradley Real Estate, Inc., a publicly traded REIT. Prior to joining Bradley Real Estate, Inc., Mr. Garfinkle was a Senior Manager at KPMG Peat Marwick, LLP. Mr. Garfinkle is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from St. Bonaventure University. Mr. Garfinkle also serves as a board member and as a member of the executive committee of Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee, having previously served as the chair of that organization’s finance committee.

Patrick D. Swindle, age 46, has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since December 2020. From January 2018 until December 2020, Mr. Swindle served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Corrections Officer. From October 2016 to January 2018, Mr. Swindle served as our Senior Vice President, Operations. From April 2014 to October 2016, Mr. Swindle served as our Vice President, Treasury and Strategic Development. From August 2013 to April 2014, Mr. Swindle served as our Vice President, Strategic Development. From July 2009 to August 2013, Mr. Swindle served as our Vice President and Treasurer. Mr. Swindle joined the Company in 2007 as Managing Director, Treasury. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Swindle spent 10 years in equity research in the equity capital markets divisions of SunTrust Equitable Securities, Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. and Avondale Partners, LLC. During his time as an equity analyst, Mr. Swindle focused his research on outsourced business services, government and healthcare industries, including partnership corrections. Mr. Swindle holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Western Kentucky University.

Anthony L. Grande, age 52, has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer since July 2008. From September 2007 to July 2008, Mr. Grande served as our Senior Vice President, State Customer Relations. Mr. Grande joined the Company in 2003 as Vice President, State Customer Relations. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Grande served as the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development for the State of Tennessee. Mr. Grande holds a bachelor’s degree from The American University and a master’s degree in education from Vanderbilt University.

Lucibeth N. Mayberry, age 50, has served as our Executive Vice President, Real Estate since May 2015. From November 2013 to May 2015, Ms. Mayberry served as our Senior Vice President, Real Estate. From August 2008 to November 2013, Ms. Mayberry served as our Vice President, Deputy Chief Development Officer. From March 2006 to August 2008, Ms. Mayberry served as our Vice President, Research, Contract and Proposals. Ms. Mayberry joined CoreCivic in May 2003 as Senior Director, State Partnership Relations, and was promoted to Managing Director, State Partnership Relations in 2004. Before joining the Company,

Ms. Mayberry served as a Senior Associate of the Taxation and Estate Planning Practice Group at the Nashville-based law firm Stokes, Bartholomew, Evans and Petree. Ms. Mayberry holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, a juris doctor from Vanderbilt University, and a Master of Laws degree in taxation from the University of Florida.

David K. Churchill, age 58, has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer since August 2020. From May 2019 until August 2020, Mr. Churchill served as our Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. From September 2014 to May 2019, Mr. Churchill served as Vice President of Human Resources. Mr. Churchill joined the Company in August 2012 as senior director of Organizational Development. Mr. Churchill has over 30 years of experience in human resources, talent management, and organizational development, having served in various senior-level roles at Bank of America, Ingersoll Rand, and Tractor Supply Company. Mr. Churchill holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Eastern Illinois University, a Master of Business Administration from Aurora University, and a doctorate in organizational behavior from The George Washington University.

Cole G. Carter, age 53, has served as our Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary since May 2019. From July 2018 until May 2019, Mr. Carter served as our Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. From July 2006 to July 2018, Mr. Carter served as Associate General Counsel. Mr. Carter joined CoreCivic in 1992 as an academic instructor at Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility. Mr. Carter was promoted to manager of Educational Services at our Facility Support Center in May 1996, where Mr. Carter also served as director of Educational Services and joined our Legal Department in 2006. Since 2016, Mr. Carter has served as president of the CoreCivic Cares Fund, which provides short-term assistance to CoreCivic employees who are undergoing financial hardship. Mr. Carter holds a bachelor’s degree from Tennessee State University, a master’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University, and a juris doctor from Nashville School of Law.

This section of the Proxy Statement discusses the philosophy, objectives and elements of our executive compensation programs and the compensation awarded to our Named Executive Officers (“NEOs”), consisting of our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and our next three highest paid executives in 2021. This information should be read in conjunction with the Summary Compensation Table and the related tables and narratives that follow the Compensation Discussion and Analysis in this Proxy Statement. Based on SEC proxy disclosure rules, the following individuals were our NEOs for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021:

We are the nation’s largest owner of partnership correctional, detention, and residential reentry facilities. We are one of the largest prison operators in the United States. Through three segments, CoreCivic Safety, CoreCivic Community and CoreCivic Properties, we provide a broad range of solutions to government partners that serve the public good through corrections and detention management, a network of residential reentry centers to help address America’s recidivism crisis, and government real estate solutions.

Our principal corporate objective is creating long-term value for our stockholders by pursuing avenues to profitably grow our primary CoreCivic Safety correctional and detention business while diversifying our revenues and cash flows by prudently expanding our CoreCivic Community and CoreCivic Properties businesses.

In 2021, the Company's largest customer, the federal government, saw a change in presidential administrations, a shift in Senate control and the replacement of numerous key leaders. The COVID-19 pandemic continued to present challenges, strain resources and impose restrictions on population management and staffing practices in correctional, detention and residential reentry facilities. The residential nature of our business presents numerous challenges for front line employees, delivering critical services to our communities and partners. Despite these challenges, we entered into a number of new contracts, renewed several other significant contracts, and completed numerous other transactions and milestones, including the following:

Our stock price increased from a closing price of $6.55 at fiscal year-end 2020 to $9.97 at fiscal year-end 2021. We believe our stock price was positively impacted by our performance under a new federal presidential administration which implemented numerous significant policy changes in its first year; by the resilience of our team members in the face of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide labor market challenges; our transition from a REIT to a taxable C Corporation; and our steady progress toward our financing and balance sheet goals.

Our total stockholder return (“TSR”) for 2021 and the three-year and five-year periods ended December 31, 2021, and ranking within our peer group (as set forth under Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Process for Determining Compensation—Independent Review and Use of Market Data—Peer Group Review and Update), are illustrated below. On March 16, 2022, our closing stock price was $9.40.

Pay for performance is an important component of our longstanding executive compensation philosophy. Our compensation approach is designed to attract, retain and motivate qualified, knowledgeable and talented executives. Compensation is provided using a balanced mix of short- and long-term incentives because we believe that this balance drives leadership decisions that continuously strengthen our Company and focus on returning value to stockholders.

As each year’s executive compensation program goals are set, our Compensation Committee considers our Company’s external challenges and opportunities, examining not only opportunities for desirable business outcomes, but also opportunities for our Company to contribute to the improvement of the lives of those entrusted to our care and the career and development of our workforce. The Committee also strives to align financial targets and NEO incentives with the most important aspects of our Company’s capital allocation and growth strategies.

In 2019, with the assistance of Exequity, our Compensation Committee led a comprehensive review and redesign of the Company’s executive compensation program. We believe the 2019 redesign of the Company’s executive compensation program built upon the strong foundation established under prior executive compensation policies, while creating proper incentives for our executives to achieve corporate and strategic objectives and to maximize stockholder value over the long-term and to align pay with stockholders’ interests. In 2021, the Compensation Committee, with the assistance of Exequity, reviewed the Company’s existing executive compensation program for changes it should implement as a result of the Company’s conversion from a REIT to a taxable C Corporation, effective January 1, 2021. While the structure of the Company’s executive compensation program itself did not change, Exequity recommended that the Compensation Committee adopt changes to the Company’s peer group to better align the peer group with the Company’s revocation of its REIT election and conversion to a taxable C Corporation. The Compensation Committee adopted this recommendation (see Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Process for Determining Compensation—Independent Review and Use of Market Data— Peer Group Review and Update and Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Long-Term Incentive Compensation—Revised Peer Group for Determining rTSR Modifier for Performance-Based RSU).

Consistent with the 2019 objectives, our Compensation Committee has developed and approved an executive compensation program providing for a range of compensation for our executives, with the intent of rewarding strong performance and reducing incentive compensation when our performance objectives are not achieved. For a detailed discussion of our short-term and long-term incentive programs, see the Executive and Director Compensation—Annual Cash Incentive Plan and Executive and Director Compensation—Long-Term Incentive Compensation sections, respectively, of this Proxy Statement.

The charts below illustrate the balance of target total compensation during 2021 for the CEO (on the left) and the average of the other NEOs (on the right):

Elements of CEO and Other NEO Average Target Compensation ⁽¹⁾

 

The following table provides a summary of the types of compensation provided to our CEO and our other NEOs.

In designing our compensation programs, we are mindful of the risks to our stockholders that may be inherent in our compensation programs, and we attempt to utilize compensation practices that mitigate these risks. In designing our compensation programs, we also have considered feedback from our investors and relevant third parties. Our compensation program includes the following compensation practices:

At our 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, our stockholders overwhelmingly approved the compensation of our NEOs with more than 96% of the votes cast voting in favor of our advisory “say on pay” proposal. Our Compensation Committee and the Company view these results as an indication that our stockholders support our executive compensation policies. Nonetheless, our Compensation Committee regularly evaluates our executive compensation plans and policies, compensation best practices and

market compensation trends, and considers alternatives for strengthening the alignment of our executive compensation program with our compensation philosophy and objectives, our business strategy, competitive market practices and long-term stockholder value creation. The comprehensive plan design described in this Proxy Statement reflects both an acknowledgement of stockholder support for the Company’s executive compensation approach and the desire of our Compensation Committee to continuously refine our executive compensation program in accordance with the factors listed above.

The foundational philosophy of our executive compensation program is to provide a total mix of compensation, comprising base salary, annual cash incentive compensation, long-term equity-based incentive awards and other benefits, which enables us to attract, retain and motivate, qualified, knowledgeable and talented executive leadership that will execute our business strategy, uphold our values, deliver positive results and create long-term value for our stockholders. Accordingly, our Compensation Committee develops compensation strategies and programs that will attract, retain and motivate qualified, knowledgeable and talented executives through compensation that is:

Our Compensation Committee establishes and regularly reviews our compensation philosophy and programs, exercises authority with respect to the determination and payment of base and incentive compensation to executive officers and administers our 2020 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2020 Plan”) and our Amended and Restated 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2008 Plan”). Our Compensation Committee annually reviews executive compensation and our compensation programs to ensure our CEO and the other executive officers are rewarded appropriately for their contributions to our success, and our overall compensation strategy supports the objectives and values of our organization, as well as stockholder interests. Our Compensation Committee conducts this review and makes compensation decisions through a comprehensive process involving a series of meetings primarily occurring in the first and second quarters of each year. Compensation Committee meetings typically are attended by our Compensation Committee members, legal advisors, our Chair of the Board, our CEO and, upon request, the Compensation Committee’s independent compensation consultant. As with all Board committees, other Board members

also have a standing invitation to attend our Compensation Committee’s meetings. Our CEO generally makes recommendations to our Compensation Committee regarding equity awards for the executive officers other than himself. Our Compensation Committee meets in executive session to the extent the members deem necessary or appropriate to ensure independent analysis and determinations. Additional information regarding our Compensation Committee and its meetings is included above under Corporate Governance—Board Meetings and Committees.

In making executive compensation determinations, our Compensation Committee performs an overall analysis of each executive’s individual job performance, position, experience, and level of responsibilities, impact on the execution of our strategy, contributions to our corporate performance, job tenure and potential. The Compensation Committee relies on its general experience and subjective considerations of various factors, including our strategic business goals, information with respect to the peer group set forth below, proprietary and publicly available compensation surveys and data with respect to other public companies provided by Exequity.

Our Compensation Committee does not set specific targets or utilize any formulaic benchmarks for overall compensation or for allocations between fixed and performance-based compensation, cash and non-cash compensation or short-term and long-term compensation. In addition, our Compensation Committee uses proprietary and publicly available compensation surveys and data with respect to other public companies provided by our compensation consultant, Exequity, to obtain a general understanding of current compensation practices, including to confirm that the base salary and other elements of target total compensation opportunity for our executive officers is at a market-competitive level.

Our Compensation Committee does not specifically target or benchmark in any formulaic manner any element of compensation or the total compensation payable to NEOs based on the foregoing factors.

Based on these objectives, our Compensation Committee has determined we should provide our executive with compensation packages comprising these primary elements:

Benefits and perquisites play a limited role in our executives’ total compensation packages. Our Compensation Committee believes that, as a result of our balance of long- and short-term incentives and our use of performance-based and time-based RSUs that provide a tie to our stockholders’ interests and our stock ownership guidelines, our executive compensation programs currently serve our compensation philosophy and objectives well.

Our Compensation Committee has engaged an independent compensation consultant, Exequity, to assist in reviewing compensation strategies and plans and provide proprietary and publicly available compensation surveys and data with respect to other public companies. When requested, Exequity works directly with the Chair of our Compensation Committee and as directed by the Chair of our Compensation Committee, with our CEO and other executive officers. Exequity representatives also attend Compensation Committee meetings when requested by the Compensation Committee. Exequity was selected due to its extensive experience in providing compensation consulting services and its status as a nationally-recognized advisor on executive and director compensation programs.

At our Compensation Committee’s request, Exequity has from time to time performed compensation analyses, including peer and market comparisons, internal pay equity assessments, updating of the executive salary structure and modeling of executive compensation levels at different levels of company performance. These analyses and input from Exequity have assisted our Compensation Committee in determining whether our strategies and plans were advisable based on the Company’s current financial position and Strategic Business Goals, competitive with our peers and consistent with current practices in corporate governance and compensation design. Additional information regarding the engagement and independence of Exequity as independent compensation consultant to our Compensation Committee is included above under the heading Corporate Governance—Board Meetings and Committees.

In 2021, at the request of our Compensation Committee, Exequity assessed and recommended adjustments with respect to our peer group selection methodology and composition. In reviewing the existing peer group, the Compensation Committee sought to identify which of the Company’s 2020 peer group members were appropriate going forward as the Company had elected to no longer function as a REIT.

In 2021, the Compensation Committee considered the recommendations of Exequity in its adoption of the following criteria for identifying appropriate companies to include in our peer group:

Applying the foregoing selection criteria and Exequityʼs recommendations for potential peer group companies, and considering the Company’s overall compensation strategy, the peer group used by our Compensation Committee for 2021 consisted of the following companies.

Previously, the peer group considered by the Compensation Committee consisted of the following companies: Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc., Americold Realty Trust, Brookdale Senior Living, Inc., CBL & Associates Properties, Inc., Cinemark Holdings, Inc., Duke Realty Corporation, Encompass Health Corporation, Extended Stay America, Inc., Federal Realty Investment Trust, The GEO Group, Inc., Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Iron Mountain Incorporated, Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc., Penn National Gaming, Inc., Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc., Rayonier, Inc., Realty Income Corporation, Red Rock Resorts, Inc., Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. and Weingarten Realty Investors.

Our 2021 peer group removed over a third of our 2020 peers, substituting peers recommended by Exequity and approved by our Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee believes that the new peer group preserves those companies from the 2020 peer group that remain the most comparable while substituting more appropriate peers in the other cases, taking into account such factors as our Company’s transition from a REIT to a taxable C Corporation; our Company’s focus on reducing indebtedness and enhancing its balance sheet; and our Company’s reduced focus on acquisitions and non-justice leased properties.

While none of our peer group companies met all the selection criteria above, each peer group company met three or more of the selection criteria. At the time the Compensation Committee initially selected the peer group, our revenue was at approximately the 60th percentile when compared with the revenue of our peers.

The following tables summarize the companies that were added and removed from our peer group:

The primary components of the 2021 compensation program for our NEOs were:

We seek to provide base salaries for our executive officers that provide a secure level of guaranteed cash compensation in accordance with their experience, skills, performance, and job roles and responsibilities. Typically, in the second quarter of each year, our Compensation Committee reviews and, if applicable, approves an annual salary plan for our executive officers, taking into account several factors, including prior year’s salary, responsibilities, tenure, individual performance, salaries paid by companies in our peer group for comparable positions, the Company’s overall pay scale and the Company’s recent and projected financial performance.

Our Compensation Committee also solicits the views and recommendations of our CEO, in consultation with our Chair, when setting the base salaries of the other executive officers, given their respective insight into internal pay equity and positioning issues, as well as executive performance. At a Compensation Committee meeting typically held in the first or second quarter of each year, our CEO summarizes his assessment of the performance during the previous year of each of the other executive officers. Our CEO, in consultation with our Chair, also provides his recommendations on any compensation adjustments. Our Compensation Committee approves any base salary adjustments for these executives based on factors such as the competitive compensation analysis, our CEO’s assessment of individual performance, the Company’s performance, the location of the executive’s current salary within the applicable salary range, general market conditions and internal pay equity considerations.

The process is similar for determining any base salary adjustments for our CEO, except our CEO does not provide our Compensation Committee with a recommendation. Our CEO presents a self-assessment of his performance during the year to our Compensation Committee, which then approves any base salary adjustment based on the factors described above with respect to our other executives. To the extent it deems necessary and appropriate, our Compensation Committee meets in executive sessions to discuss adjustments to the base salaries of our executive officers, including our CEO. Such adjustments typically take effect on or about July 1 of each year.

In 2021, base salary represented approximately 19.5% of our CEO’s total direct compensation package (and, on average, approximately 24.4% of our other NEOs’ total compensation package at target performance (calculated in the manner described on page 55)). Specifically, the Compensation Committee considered each NEO’s current base pay, taking into account base salary levels paid to persons holding similar positions at peer companies, as well as the absence of base salary adjustments made to each NEO’s base salary in 2020. Based on its review, the Compensation Committee determined that a 5.00% increase in Mr. Hininger’s base salary was necessary to continue to maintain a market-competitive level of compensation for Mr. Hininger, taking into account his experience level and job responsibilities. The committee also increased the base salaries of the other NEOs, in order to maintain a market-competitive level of compensation for these executives, based on the review described above.

Based on its review of the factors described above, the Compensation Committee determined that the base salary amounts for the NEOs should be set at the following levels:

Our annual cash incentive plan provides our executive officers with an opportunity to earn cash compensation based on the extent to which objective performance targets set in advance by our Compensation Committee are met. In 2021, assuming performance at the target level of achievement, annual cash incentive compensation represented approximately 24.4% of our CEO’s total compensation package and, on average, 24.4% of our other NEOs’ total compensation packages (calculated in the manner described on page 55).

In 2021, our Compensation Committee concluded the competitiveness of our annual cash incentive plan for attracting, retaining and motivating qualified, knowledgeable and talented executives, as well as its alignment with our capital allocation and growth strategies, would be improved by:

The Compensation Committee determined to use Adjusted EBITDA as a financial metric, because it is not impacted by taxes and short-term financing decisions, such as debt refinancing and equity issuances or repurchases that are not reflective of operating performance. EBITDA is a primary metric used by the Company to assess performance and its ability to service and repay debt, and the Compensation Committee concluded that aligning incentive compensation with this metric would reinforce the Company’s business strategies.

The Compensation Committee believes that the Adjusted EBITDA incentive properly places focus on the Company’s correctional, detention and residential reentry businesses conducted by the Safety segment and Community segment, as well as addresses the increasing importance of efficient and effective management of our Properties segment. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are amounts calculated and presented on the basis of methodologies other than in accordance with GAAP. Please refer to Appendix A for further explanation and reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to net income, its most directly comparable GAAP measure.

In light of federal policy changes discouraging the use of privately owned and managed criminal detention facilities, the Compensation Committee also elected to tie a specific annual cash incentive percentage to the Company’s success or failure in converting an existing federal contract prison or criminal detention

center to a federally leased facility (the “Lease Conversion”). The Compensation Committee believes that Company-leased, government-operated prison and detention centers provide an alternative means for federal users to occupy Company facilities in a manner consistent with federal policy.

Further, the Compensation Committee deemed it appropriate to cause any resulting cash bonus to which our NEOs were eligible to receive as a result of the two foregoing metrics (achievement of the performance targets established for Adjusted EBITDA and the Lease Conversion) to be subjected to a Strategic Business Goals modifier, which may increase or decrease such cash bonus depending on the level of achievement of the Strategic Business Goals established by the Compensation Committee.

The Compensation Committee adopted objective, Strategic Business Goals as a performance modifier to the annual cash incentive compensation because our Compensation Committee believes that value is returned to our stockholders when we invest in the lives and futures of our workforce and those entrusted to our care by our government partners.

Our Compensation Committee believes the addition of the Strategic Business Goals modifier strikes an appropriate balance in rewarding our executive officers for achieving positive financial results in the near-term, while strengthening their focus on the successful execution of our long-term growth strategy, as well as the development of both our workforce and those entrusted to our care by our government partners. Achievement of the Strategic Business Goals is determined by our Compensation Committee based on their assessment of our performance with respect to the Strategic Business Goals. For these reasons, the entirety of each NEO’s annual cash incentive bonus opportunity for 2021 was subjected to a modifier tied to achievement of the following three goals:

The Strategic Business Goals modifier can increase or decrease the amount of annual cash incentive compensation calculated based on Adjusted EBITDA and the Lease Conversion, which could also result in annual cash incentive compensation above the maximums or below the minimums described below.

 

The table below sets forth the performance targets and corresponding percentage of base salary amounts to be awarded to our CEO and other NEOs based on the achievement of Adjusted EBITDA during the year ended December 31, 2021, as established by the Compensation Committee on March 30, 2021. Under this established framework, Adjusted EBITDA and the Lease Conversion metric determine the percentage of the annual cash incentive award before that award is adjusted upward or downward based on the achievement of Strategic Business Goals:

Under the annual cash incentive opportunity, a failure to achieve the minimum bonus level in the Adjusted EBITDA category or a failure to achieve the Lease Conversion results in zero bonus opportunity for that category. Similarly, achievement of performance above the maximum bonus level in the Adjusted EBITDA category results in a bonus opportunity at the maximum level only for that category. Assuming the achievement of Adjusted EBITDA at or above the minimum level, the percentage of salary awarded for performance falling between the listed achievement levels is determined by using straight-line interpolation. Because the Lease Conversion category is success or failure only, there is no means by which an NEO could exceed that measure or for the utilization of straight-line interpolation.

Cash incentive awards achieved under the 2021 Annual Cash Incentive Opportunity table above are further increased or decreased based upon the achievement of Strategic Business Goals established by our Compensation Committee on March 30, 2021 in accordance with the table below.

For 2021, we generated $402.0 million of Adjusted EBITDA, but were unsuccessful in achieving the pass/fail target of the lease conversion goal. As a result, our CEO’s annual cash incentive opportunity was 146.58% of base salary and our other NEOs’ annual cash incentive opportunity was 117.27% of base salary, before the application of the Strategic Business Goals modifier. As indicated in the table below, the Compensation Committee determined that we achieved all three of our Strategic Business Goals, which resulted in a Strategic Business Goals modifier of 1.200x.

The following table reflects our Compensation Committee’s determination of the appropriate modifier based on Strategic Business Goals established by the Committee on March 30, 2021:

Based on our 2021 performance, the following annual cash incentive plan compensation was awarded to our NEOs in February 2022:

Our pay mix is weighted toward equity compensation because we believe long-term, equity-based incentive compensation strengthens and aligns the interests of our executive officers with our stockholders. Equity incentive awards are generally granted to our executive officers on an annual basis. In 2021, long-term equity incentive compensation represented approximately 52.7% of our CEO’s total direct compensation package and, on average, approximately 49.4% of our other NEOs’ total compensation package (calculated in the manner described on page 55).

Our long-term equity incentive plan components are:

As part of its 2019 review of the executive compensation programs described above, the Compensation Committee discussed with Exequity the most appropriate way to motivate and retain our executives. The Compensation Committee believed it was important to continue to use RSU awards instead of stock options to better align the interest of our executives with our stockholders, to encourage executive retention and to conform to compensation practices which provide for granting of both time-based and performance-based equity awards to executive officers.

As a result of these discussions, the Compensation Committee made the decision to structure long-term equity incentive compensation awards in 2021 as a combination of performance-based RSUs and time-based RSUs. Our Compensation Committee considered many factors in determining the mix and value of the time-based and performance-based RSUs to be granted to our NEOs. Factors considered included our financial performance, our progress in the successful execution of our capital allocation and growth strategies, competitive market practices, internal pay equity, executive recruitment and retention, our focus on equity compensation in our pay mix to encourage long-term value creation, and the volatile nature of the stock market in general and the Company’s common stock in particular. In addition, the Compensation Committee sought to transition from its previous approach, which amounted to an “all-or-nothing” RSU vesting to a design that created a range of upside and downside risk for our NEOs, thereby providing an incentive to maximize the value of our common stock even when our executives earn less than the targeted equity compensation. Performance-based RSUs create substantial upside opportunity in that vesting depends on the achievement of targets aligned with the Company’s business strategy, while time-based RSUs offer a level of predictability in that they vest in accordance with a preset schedule so long as the grantee remains employed at the time of vesting. Both performance-based and time-based RSUs offer upside and downside potential because each type of RSU is tied to our stock price and each offers the opportunity to accrue dividend equivalents before vesting (if dividends are distributed), but are not paid until vesting, and then only to the extent the associated performance-based RSUs or time-based RSUs vest and the underlying shares are issued (see Compensation Discussion and Analysis—NEO Compensation for 2021—Dividend Equivalent Rights). Utilizing both types of RSUs closely align our CEO and other NEOs with the long-term interests of our stockholders.

The Compensation Committee believed the use of Normalized FFO as a performance metric for purposes of our performance-based RSUs reflects the value we deliver to our stockholders, as well as the earnings and cash-generating potential of our portfolio and is comparable to performance metrics used by real estate operating companies. For the 2021 Performance Period, the Compensation Committee determined the Normalized FFO would be subject to the Refinancing Adjustment, if any, to properly capture the value to our Company and stockholders from the accomplishment of refinancing initiatives approved by the Board. See Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Long-Term Incentive Compensation—2021 Performance-Based RSU Awards (2021-2023 Performance Period). Additionally, by subjecting the performance-based RSUs to the rTSR modifier, the Compensation Committee effected a change designed to better align NEO long-term compensation more fully with the market results experienced by investors.

As a result of the determination discussed above, the Committee made the following long-term incentive compensation awards to the NEOs in the form of time-based RSUs on February 17, 2021 and performance-based RSUs on March 30, 2021:

The grant date fair value of performance-based RSUs awarded to NEOs in 2021 was consistent with the RSUs awarded in 2020.

The time-based RSUs granted to the NEOs reflected in the table above vest in equal amounts over three years on the later of (i) the anniversary date of the grant or (ii) the delivery of the audited financial statements by the Company’s independent registered public accountant for the applicable fiscal year (in the Company’s filing of the Annual Report on Form 10-K). The Compensation Committee believes the amount of the time-based RSUs granted to our NEOs was appropriate given our compensation philosophy and objectives, including our retention objectives. In 2021, time-based RSUs represented approximately 21.1% of our CEO’s total compensation package, and on average, 24.7% of our other NEOs’ total compensation package (calculated in the manner described on page 55).

Our Compensation Committee determined that, in light of the Company's transition to a taxable C Corporation for the year commencing January 1, 2021, the most appropriate rTSR comparator group was no longer the group it utilized in 2020, which was comprised exclusively of equity REITs. Instead, the Compensation Committee determined that the broader group of companies comprising the Russell 2000 was the appropriate rTSR comparator peer group for the Company in 2021. Because the Russell 2000 includes the smaller companies within the Russell 3000 and because it covers a broad array of industries, the Compensation Committee determined that the Russell 2000 provided a useful comparison source both reflective of broader market performance and investor expectations. Because of this substantial reset, the Compensation Committee determined to set the rTSR performance period for all performance-based RSUs vesting in 2022 based on 2021 rTSR performance.

On February 16, 2022, our Compensation Committee established a two-year rTSR performance period (2021-2022) for the vesting of the first tranche of NEO RSU awards made in 2022 as well as for the vesting

of the second tranche of RSU awards made in 2021 and for vesting of the third tranche of RSU awards made in 2020. On that same date, our Compensation Committee determined to again use the companies comprising the Russell 2000 to calculate our Company's rTSR for the two-year performance period.

In 2021, after taking into account the dynamic nature of our Company’s business, industry and growth strategy, the Compensation Committee decided to establish an annual Normalized FFO performance target for the first award tranche, subject to further adjustment, if any, to eliminate the after-tax impact of the net incremental interest expense resulting from refinancing activities approved by the Board and completed in 2021, to the extent they would otherwise be reflected in Normalized FFO (the “Refinancing Adjustment”) during the performance period beginning on January 1, 2021 and ending December 31, 2021 (the “2021 Performance Period”). The Compensation Committee determined that the Refinancing Adjustment, if any, would be appropriate to eliminate the negative short-term impact of any such refinancing activities completed in the 2021 Performance Period. The Compensation Committee established the vesting targets for the 2021 Performance Period on March 30, 2021, in accordance with the following table. Subject to the application of the Refinancing Adjustment, if any, during the 2021 Performance Period, the failure to achieve the minimum Normalized FFO performance target in a particular year results in no RSUs vesting and the forfeiture of that year’s tranche of performance-based award. Additionally, the amount of RSUs that will ultimately vest based on the Normalized FFO targets, subject to the Refinancing Adjustment, if any, in the table below will be adjusted positively or negatively based on the rTSR modifier.

Normalized FFO is an amount calculated and presented on the basis of methodologies other than in accordance with GAAP. Please refer to Appendix A for further explanation and reconciliation of Normalized FFO to net income, its most directly comparable GAAP measure.

At the same time our Compensation Committee established the Normalized FFO performance targets for the 2021 Performance Period (subject to the Refinancing Adjustment, if any), the Compensation Committee also established the following rTSR modifier levels, which positively or negatively modify any Normalized FFO performance achieved (subject to the Refinancing Adjustment, if any) based on the table below.