EXHIBIT 31.1
CERTIFICATION OF THE CEO PURSUANT TO
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT RULES 13a-15 AND 15d-15
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302
OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
I, John D. Ferguson, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of
Corrections Corporation of America;
2. Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain
any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a
material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light
of the circumstances under which such statements were made,
not misleading with respect to the period covered by this
quarterly report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
financial information included in this quarterly report,
fairly present in all material respects the financial
condition, results of operations and cash flows of the
registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
quarterly report;
4. The registrant's other certifying officer and I are
responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure
controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:
a) designed such disclosure controls and
procedures, or caused such disclosure controls
and procedures to be designed under our
supervision, to ensure that material
information relating to the registrant,
including its consolidated subsidiaries, is
made known to us by others within those
entities, particularly during the period in
which this quarterly report is being prepared;
b) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's
disclosure controls and procedures and
presented in this quarterly report our
conclusions about the effectiveness of the
disclosure controls and procedures, as of the
end of the period covered by this quarterly
report based on such evaluation; and
c) disclosed in this quarterly report any change
in the registrant's internal control over
financial reporting that occurred during the
registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the
registrant's fourth quarter in the case of an
annual report) that has materially affected, or
is reasonably likely to materially affect, the
registrant's internal control over financial
reporting; and
5. The registrant's other certifying officer and I have
disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal
control over financial reporting, to the registrant's
auditors and the audit committee of registrant's board of
directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
a) all significant deficiencies and material
weaknesses in the design or operation of
internal control over financial reporting which
are reasonably likely to adversely affect the
registrant's ability to record, process,
summarize and report financial information; and
b) any fraud, whether or not material, that
involves management or other employees who have
a significant role in the registrant's internal
control over financial reporting.
Date: November 13, 2003
/s/ John D. Ferguson
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John D. Ferguson
President and Chief Executive Officer