Thanksgiving isn’t the same without family. That’s something that Todd Chrisley knows best. Or is about to.

Even though Chrisley believes that God put him in prison for a reason, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t miserable.

This Thursday, as hundreds of millions of Americans gather with loved ones, he won’t.

But his prison does offer something special for the holiday.

TMZ spoke to Jay Surgent, who is Todd Chrisley’s attorney.

Todd Chrisley will not get to celebrate Thanksgiving in any meaningful way this week.

He is behind bars. His wife, Julie Chrisley, is behind bars — different bars, no less. And no, he cannot simply have his entire family (or even just his kids) sit down for visiting hours and throw an awkward, supervised Thanksgiving.

Chrisley is unsurprisingly unhappy about this.

In part because it’s his first Thanksgiving while he’s incarcerated. And also in part because it’s only his first Thanksgiving while incarcerated.

It’s not like it’s going to get easier from here on out.

The good news is that Savannah Chrisley plans to visit both Todd and Julie — separately, of course — at some point over the extended holiday break.

But this will be a far cry from their usual Thanksgiving traditions.

Both Todd and Julie have had their sentences reduced …. but only by, at most, a couple of years. Todd’s still looking at spending the next decade behind bars, with Julie facing a substantial sentence herself.

FPC Pensacola is reportedly planning to serve up a Thanksgiving spread for Todd and other inmates. It won’t be anything like an actual holiday meal, but it’s something.

(And this is an improvement; earlier this week, reports said that the prison hadn’t decided whether to offer Thanksgiving dishes or not)

Meanwhile, Julie Chrisley is set to receive a spread of Thanksgiving dishes at FMC Lexington. Whether these feel like a small comfort or a total mockery may be up to the inmates themselves.

Meanwhile, Surgent (Todd’s attorney) shared that they are continuing to explore legal strategies to help get him out of prison and home sooner.

Their next court date is in March. At this time, his legal time will still attempt to reverse his conviction.

That’s probably a longshot. But given that the Chrisleys are behind bars for financial crimes with no direct victims … their current sentences are absolutely egregious.

We’ve discussed this before. Todd and Julie are clearly not good people. In particular, Todd is a despicable person and a terrible father.

When rich people conceal their wealth, it does create a burden on taxpayers. They continue to reap the benefits of American citizenship to their fullest without paying their fair share.

But Todd and Julie are, like, dentist-rich. They’re not business tycoons or scions of vast fortunes. They’re single-digit millionaires. These lengthy sentences seem nothing short of grotesque.

On the positive side, both Chrisleys — and their adult children — have been raising the alarm about conditions behind bars. Yes, even at “nice” federal, white collar facilities.

One can judge a society by how they treat their children, their elders, their disabled … and, yes, by how they treat their prisoners.

Many people who are behind bars are fully innocent, or violated laws while doing nothing morally wrong or harmful. But even if every single person behind bars deserved to be there, they would still be people.

So yes, there are standards for how society should treat them. (Plus, you know, better treatment means people more likely to participate in society in a healthy way after release)

And look, we know — we know — that Todd and Julie are unsympathetic victims of our nation’s carceral system. But that doesn’t mean that their sentences are reasonable or just.

This isn’t about whether you feel sorry for them. Or about whether they eat turkey or cranberry sauce this Thursday. There are a lot of much more sympathetic victims experiencing dehumanization and ongoing trauma over minor, victimless crimes. America’s taxpayers are funding it. Maybe not Todd and Julie’s so much, but other people’s. Is that the nation that we want?

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