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                                                                  EXHIBIT 10.26
   
                            CCA PRISON REALTY TRUST
                    NON-EMPLOYEE TRUSTEES' SHARE OPTION PLAN


          1. Purpose. The purpose of the CCA Prison Realty Trust Non-Employee
     Trustees' Share Option Plan (the "Plan") is to advance the interests of
     CCA Prison Realty Trust (the "Company") and its shareholders by
     encouraging increased share ownership by members of the Board of Trustees
     (the "Board") of the Company who are not employees of the Company, any
     subsidiary of the Company, Corrections Corporation of America ("CCA"), or
     any subsidiary of CCA to enhance long-term shareholder value through
     continuing ownership of the Company's common shares.

          2. Administration.

               (a) The Plan shall be administered by the Compensation Committee
          of the Board. The Compensation Committee shall have all the powers
          vested in it by the terms of the Plan, which shall include the
          authority (within the limitations described herein) to prescribe the
          form of the agreements embodying awards of non-qualified options (the
          "Options"). The Compensation Committee, subject to the provisions of
          the Plan, shall grant Options under the Plan and shall have the power
          to construe the Plan, to determine all questions arising hereunder,
          and to adopt and amend such rules and regulations for the
          administration of the Plan as it may deem desirable. Any decision of
          the Compensation Committee in the administration of the Plan shall be
          final and conclusive. The Compensation Committee may act only by a
          majority of its members in office, except that the members of the
          Compensation Committee may authorize any one or more of their members
          or the Secretary or any other officer of the Company to execute and
          deliver documents on behalf of the Compensation Committee.

               (b) Each person who is or shall have been a member of the
          Compensation Committee shall be indemnified and held harmless by the
          Company against and from any and all loss, cost, liability, or
          expense that may be imposed upon or reasonably incurred by him in
          connection with or resulting from any claim, action, suit, or
          proceeding to which he may be or become involved by reason of any
          action taken or failure to act under the Plan and against and from
          any and all amounts paid by him in settlement thereof (with the
          Company's written approval) or paid by him in satisfaction of a
          judgment in any such action, suit, or proceeding, except a judgment
          in favor of the Company based upon a finding of his lack of good
          faith; subject, however, to the conditions that upon the institution
          of any claim, action, suit, or proceeding against him, he shall in
          writing give the Company an opportunity, at its expense, to handle
          and defend the same before he undertakes to handle and defend it on
          such person's own behalf. The foregoing right of indemnification
          shall not be exclusive of any other right to which such person may be
          entitled as a matter of law or otherwise, or any power that the
          Company may have to indemnify him or hold him harmless. Each member
          of the Compensation Committee and each officer and employee of the
          Company shall be fully justified in relying or acting in good faith
          upon any information furnished in connection with the administration
          of the Plan by an appropriate person or persons other than himself.
          In no event shall any person who is or shall have been a member of
          the Compensation



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     Committee or an officer or employee of the Company be held liable for      
     any determination made or other action taken or any omission to act in
     reliance upon any such information as referred to in the preceding 
     sentence, or for any action (including the furnishing of information)
     taken or any omission to act, when such determination, action, or omission
     is made in good faith.

     3. Participation. Each member of the Board of the Company who is not an
employee of the Company, any subsidiary of the Company, CCA or any subsidiary
of CCA (a "Non-Employee Trustee") shall receive Options in accordance with
Section 5 below. As used herein, the term "subsidiary" means any corporation at
least 40% of the outstanding voting stock of which is owned, directly or
indirectly, by the Company or CCA, as the case may be.

     4. Awards Under the Plan.

          (a) Type of Awards. Awards under the Plan shall include only Options,
     which are rights to purchase common shares of the Company having a par
     value of $.01 per share (the "Shares"). All Options are subject to the
     terms, conditions, and restrictions specified in Paragraph 5 below.

          (b) Maximum Number of Shares That May Be Issued. No more than 150,000
     Shares, subject to adjustment as provided in Paragraph 6 below, may be
     issued under the Plan pursuant to the exercise of Options.

          (c) Rights with Respect to Shares. A Non-Employee Trustee to whom an
     Option is granted (and any person succeeding to such a Non-Employee
     Trustee rights pursuant to the Plan) shall have no rights as a shareholder
     with respect to any Shares issuable pursuant to any such Option until the
     date of the issuance of a share certificate to him for such Shares. Except
     as provided in Paragraph 6 below, no adjustment shall be made for
     dividends, distributions, or other rights (whether ordinary or
     extraordinary, and whether in cash, securities, or other property) for
     which the record date is prior to the date such share certificate is
     issued.

     5. Non-Qualified Options. All Options shall be options which are not
"incentive stock options" within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"). Each Option shall be evidenced
by an agreement in such form as the Board shall prescribe from time to time in
accordance with the Plan and shall be subject to the following terms and
conditions:

          (a) The option price per Share shall be 100% of the fair market value
     per Share at grant. The fair market value per Share on any given date,
     unless otherwise determined by the Compensation Committee in good faith,
     shall be the reported closing price of a Share on the New York Stock
     Exchange or, if no such sale of Shares is reported on the New York Stock
     Exchange on such date, the fair market value of the Share as determined by
     the Board



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     in good faith. The options granted to Founding Trustees (as defined
     below) upon effectiveness of the Registration Statement (as defined below)
     will have an exercise price equal to the initial public offering price.

          (b) Each Non-Employee Trustee as of the date the initial Registration
     Statement on Form S-11(the "Registration Statement") is declared effective
     by the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the offering of
     18,500,000 Shares will receive an Option to purchase 5,000 Shares on the
     date of the Registration Statement (each such trustee, a "Founding
     Trustee"). Each Non-Employee Trustee who is not a Founding Trustee (a
     "NonFounding Trustee") will receive an Option to purchase 5,000 Shares on
     the date the NonFounding Trustee is first elected or appointed to the
     Board of Trustees. In addition to the foregoing, each Non-Employee Trustee
     will receive an Option to purchase 5,000 Shares on each of the nine
     anniversary dates of the adoption of the Plan.

          (c) The term of each Option shall be fixed by the Compensation
     Committee, but no Option shall be exercisable more than ten years after
     the date the Option is granted.

          (d) Options shall be exercisable at such time or times and subject to
     such terms and conditions as shall be determined by the Board at or after
     grant. If the Compensation Committee provides, in its sole discretion,
     that any Option is exercisable only in installments, the Compensation
     Committee may waive such installment exercise provisions at any time at or
     after grant in whole or in part, based on such factors as the Compensation
     Committee shall determine, in its sole discretion.

          (e) Subject to whatever installment exercise provisions apply under
     subparagraph (d), Options may be exercised in whole or in part at any time
     during the option period, by giving written notice of exercise to the
     Company specifying the number of Shares to be purchased. Such notice shall
     be accompanied by payment in full of the purchase price either by check,
     note or such other instrument as the Compensation Committee may accept. As
     determined by the Compensation Committee in its sole discretion, at or
     after grant, payment in full or in part may also be made in the form of a
     share option or Shares already owned by the Non-Employee Trustee (based,
     in each case, on the fair market value of the share option or the Shares
     on the date the Option is exercised, as determined by the Compensation
     Committee in accordance with subparagraph (a)). No Shares shall be issued
     until full payment therefor has been made. Upon purchase of Shares, an
     optionee shall make such representations, warranties and covenants as the
     Compensation Committee may request.

          (f) The Compensation Committee may, in its discretion, authorize all
     or a portion of the Options to be granted to a Non-Employee Trustee to be
     on terms which permit transfer by such optionee to (i) the spouse,
     children or grandchildren of the Non-Employee Trustee ("Immediate Family
     Members"), (ii) a trust or trusts for the exclusive benefit of such
     Immediate Family Members, (iii) a partnership in which such Immediate
     Family Members are the only partners, or (iv) certain affiliates of the
     Non-Employee Trustee, as determined



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     by the Compensation Committee, provided that (x) there may be no
     consideration for any such transfer, (y) the share option agreement
     pursuant to which such Options are granted must be approved by the
     Compensation Committee, and must expressly provide for transferability in
     a manner consistent with this Section, and (z) subsequent transfers of
     transferred Options shall be prohibited except those in accordance with
     this subparagraph (f). Following transfer, any such Options shall continue
     to be subject to the same terms and conditions as were applicable
     immediately prior to transfer, provided that for purposes of this Plan or
     the option agreement executed pursuant hereto, the term "optionee" or
     "Non-Employee Trustee" shall be deemed to refer to the transferee.

     6. Capital Adjustments. In the event of any merger, reorganization,
consolidation, recapitalization, share dividend, share split or other change in
corporate structure affecting the Shares, an adjustment shall be made in the
aggregate number of Shares reserved for issuance under the Plan and in the
number and price of Shares subject to outstanding Options granted under the
Plan, as may be determined to be appropriate by the Compensation Committee, in
its sole discretion, provided that the number of Shares subject to an Option
shall always be a whole number.

     7. Authority to Issue Shares. The Company, during the term of the Options
granted hereunder, will at all times reserve and keep available, and will seek
to obtain from any regulatory body having jurisdiction, any requisite authority
in order to issue and sell such number of Shares as shall be sufficient to
satisfy the requirements of the Options granted under the Plan. If in the
opinion of its counsel the issuance or sale of any Shares hereunder shall not
be lawful for any reason, including the inability of the Company to obtain from
any regulatory body having jurisdiction, authority deemed by such counsel to be
necessary to such issuance or sale, the Company shall not be obligated to issue
or sell any such Shares.

     8. Ownership Limitation. All Options shall be subject to the ownership
limitations set forth in the Declaration of Trust of the Company. Without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, any Option which causes a
Non-Employee Trustee, or any constructive or beneficial owner of Shares subject
to such Option (as determined under Sections 318 and 544, respectively, of the
Code), to own or be deemed to own Shares in excess of such ownership
limitations shall be void ab initio.

     9. Miscellaneous Provisions.

          (a) No Non-Employee Trustee or other person shall have any claim or
     right to be granted an Option under the Plan. Neither the Plan nor any
     action taken hereunder shall be construed as giving a Non-Employee Trustee
     any right to be retained in the service of the Company.

          (b) Except as provided in Section 5 (f), an optionee's rights and
     interests under the Plan may not be assigned or transferred in whole or in
     part either directly or by operation of law or otherwise (except in the
     event of a optionee's death, by will or the laws of descent and
     distribution), including, but not by way of limitation, execution, levy,
     garnishment,




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     attachment, pledge, bankruptcy, or in any manner, and no such right
     or interest of any participant in the Plan shall be subject to any
     obligation or liability of such participant.

          (c) No Shares shall be issued hereunder unless counsel for the
     Company shall be satisfied that such issuance will be in compliance with
     applicable federal, state, and other securities laws.

          (d) The expenses of administration of the Plan shall be borne by the
     Company.

          (e) The Plan shall be unfunded. The Company shall not be required to
     establish any special or separate fund or to make any other segregation of
     assets to ensure the issuance of Shares upon exercise of any Option under
     the Plan and issuance of Shares upon exercise of Options shall be
     subordinate to the claims of the Company's general creditors.

          (f) By accepting any Option or other benefit under the Plan, each
     optionee and each person claiming under or through an optionee shall be
     conclusively deemed to have indicated his or her acceptance and
     ratification of, and consent to, any action taken under the Plan by the
     Company or the Compensation Committee.

          (g) The appropriate officers of the Company shall cause to be filed
     any reports, returns, or other information regarding Options hereunder or
     any Shares issued pursuant hereto as may be required by the Securities
     Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
     or any other applicable statute, rule, or regulation (excluding reports
     pursuant to Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which shall
     be the sole responsibility of a Non-Employee Trustee who exercises an
     Option).

     10. Amendment. The Plan may be amended at any time and from time to time
by the Board as the Board shall deem advisable. No amendment of the Plan shall
materially and adversely affect any right of any optionee with respect to any
Option theretofore granted without such optionee's written consent.

     11. Effective Date. This Plan shall be effective on Monday, April 21,
1997.

     12. Termination. This Plan shall terminate upon the earlier of the
following dates or events to occur:

          (a) the adoption of a resolution of the Board terminating the Plan;
     or

          (b) December 31, 2007.

     No termination of the Plan shall materially and adversely affect any of
the rights or obligations of any person, without his consent, under any Option
theretofore granted under the Plan.




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