EXHIBIT 99.1

NEWS RELEASE                                                          [CCA LOGO]
                                              CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA

Contact: Karin Demler, Investor Relations 615-263-3005

       CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA ANNOUNCES ACCELERATED VESTING OF
           STOCK OPTIONS COMBINED WITH RESALE RESTRICTION AGREEMENTS

NASHVILLE, TENN., DECEMBER 9, 2005 - CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA (NYSE:
CXW) (the "Company") today announced that its Board of Directors, through its
Compensation Committee, approved the acceleration, effective December 30, 2005,
of the vesting of outstanding options previously awarded to executive officers
and employees under its Amended and Restated 1997 Employee Share Incentive Plan
and its Amended and Restated 2000 Stock Incentive Plan. As a result of the
acceleration, approximately 980,000 unvested options will become exercisable,
45% of which were scheduled to vest in February 2006. All of the unvested
options are currently "in-the-money" with a range of exercise prices from $15.40
to $39.50 per share.

In order to prevent unintended benefits to the holders of these stock options,
the Company has imposed resale restrictions to prevent the sale of any shares
acquired from the exercise of an accelerated option prior to the original
vesting date of the option. The resale restrictions automatically expire upon
the individual's termination of employment. All other terms and conditions
applicable to such options, including the exercise prices, remain unchanged. As
an additional condition of acceleration, the Company will require certain key
employees to enter into non-solicitation, non-disclosure and non-compete
agreements for a period of one year following the employee's termination of
employment.

The purpose of the accelerated vesting of stock options is to enable the Company
to avoid recognizing compensation expense associated with these options in
future periods as required by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS)
No. 123R, "Share Based Payment", which the Company is required to adopt January
1, 2006. The Company expects to reduce the non-cash, pre-tax compensation
expense it would otherwise be required to record by an estimated $3.8 million in
2006, $2.0 million in 2007, and $0.5 million in 2008. As a result of the
acceleration, the Company expects to take a non-cash, pre-tax charge ranging
from $1.0 million to $1.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2005, the exact
amount of which will be based on the closing price of the Company's stock on
December 30, 2005, the effective date of the acceleration. This fourth quarter
non-cash, pre-tax charge was not contemplated at the time guidance was provided
in the Company's third quarter earnings release issued on November 3, 2005.

President and CEO John Ferguson stated, "In making the decision to accelerate
these options, the Company considered the interest of the stockholders in
reducing future earnings charges for a number of years, while inserting
restrictions to prevent unintended benefits for the individuals prior to the
original vesting dates."

                                     -more-



Page 2
CCA Announces Accelerated Vesting of Stock Options Combined with Resale
Restriction Agreements

ABOUT THE COMPANY

The Company is the nation's largest owner and operator of privatized
correctional and detention facilities and one of the largest prison operators in
the United States, behind only the federal government and three states. The
Company currently operates 63 facilities, including 39 company-owned facilities,
with a total design capacity of approximately 71,000 beds in 19 states and the
District of Columbia. The Company specializes in owning, operating and managing
prisons and other correctional facilities and providing inmate residential and
prisoner transportation services for governmental agencies. In addition to
providing the fundamental residential services relating to inmates, the
Company's facilities offer a variety of rehabilitation and educational programs,
including basic education, religious services, life skills and employment
training and substance abuse treatment. These services are intended to reduce
recidivism and to prepare inmates for their successful re-entry into society
upon their release. The Company also provides health care (including medical,
dental and psychiatric services), food services and work and recreational
programs.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains statements as to the Company's beliefs and
expectations of the outcome of future events that are forward-looking statements
as defined within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made.
These include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties associated
with: (i) fluctuations in the Company's operating results because of, among
other things, changes in occupancy levels, competition, increases in cost of
operations, fluctuations in interest rates and risks of operations; (ii) changes
in the privatization of the corrections and detention industry, the public
acceptance of the Company's services and the timing of the opening of and demand
for new prison facilities; (iii) the Company's ability to obtain and maintain
correctional facility management contracts, including as the result of
sufficient governmental appropriations and as the result of inmate disturbances;
(iv) increases in costs to construct or expand correctional facilities that
exceed original estimates, or the inability to complete such projects on
schedule as a result of various factors, many of which are beyond the Company's
control, such as weather, labor conditions and material shortages, resulting in
increased construction costs; and (v) general economic and market conditions.
Other factors that could cause operating and financial results to differ are
described in the filings made from time to time by the Company with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Company takes no responsibility for updating the information contained in
this press release following the date hereof to reflect events or circumstances
occurring after the date hereof or the occurrence of unanticipated events or for
any changes or modifications made to this press release or the information
contained herein by any third-parties, including, but not limited to, any wire
or internet services.

                                       ###