ATLANTA — A federal report issued Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Justice says Georgia's prison system fundamentally fails to protect incarcerated people from violence and sexual harm in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
"The state is deliberately indifferent to these unsafe conditions," the report states. "The constitutional violations are exacerbated by serious deficiencies in staffing and supervision, physical condition and security of the facilities, classification and housing, management of gangs and other security threat groups, control of weapons and other contraband, and incident reporting, response, and investigations. The State has known about the unsafe conditions for years and has failed to take reasonable measures to address them."
Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general leading the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division called the conditions inside Georgia's system "horrific and inhumane." She said people were "assaulted stabbed, raped and killed or left to languish inside facilities that are woefully understaffed" as well as "maimed and tortured, relegated to an existence of fear, filth and not so benign neglect."
In a response, the Georgia Department of Corrections said it was "extremely disappointed to learn today of the decision by the Department of Justice to issue a Notice Letter leveling a variety of accusations against our prison system."
GDC said the DOJ report "fails to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of our staff" as well as "many of the successful initiatives undertaken to improve conditions inside our prisons for our staff and our inmates."
The full state response is at the bottom of this page, as well as the full DOJ report.
"The GDC fully cooperated with DOJ’s investigation and will continue to do so as we begin discussions with DOJ over next steps," GDC added. "As history demonstrates, DOJ’s track record in prison oversight is poor – often entangling systems in years of expensive and unproductive court monitoring.."
“Our statewide investigation exposes long-standing, systemic violations stemming from complete indifference and disregard to the safety and security of people Georgia holds in its prisons," Clarke said. "...These dangerous conditions not only harm the people Georgia incarcerates — it places prison employees and the broader community at risk. The Justice Department is committed to using its authority to bring about humane conditions of confinement that are consistent with contemporary standards of decency and respect for basic human dignity.”
The report highlights one stretch in December 2023 where there were five homicides at four different prisons all within about two weeks. Two occurred at Central State Prison in Bibb County, and one each at Macon State Prison, Coastal State Prison in Chatham County and Telfair State prison.
The report further notes a "systemic access to potential victims" for sexual predators, and "LGBTI people are particularly vulnerable."
"Gangs that run housing units often target LGBTI individuals with physical and sexual violence. LGBTI individuals described being beaten and stabbed by others in their housing unit because of their LGBTI status," the report states. "Others reported receiving threats of violence if they did not leave the housing unit. Yet, despite their vulnerability, GDC does not adequately screen, classify, or track LGBTI individuals to ensure their safety."
The report recommends Georgia implement several corrective measures, including:
- requesting a strategy to assess and improve conditions from the National Institute of Corrections;
- create a strategic plan to "address systemwide violence and sexual abuse" with the NIC;
- assess the "skills, qualifications and training" of facility and GDC system leadership;
- increase hiring to bring GDC facilities to 90% of allotted posts;
- ensure all mandatory posts are filled;
- ensure regular security rounds are conducted at facilities and that such rounds are appropriately documented;
- ensure all counts are conducted and documented;
- and "assess the feasibility of aligning low-risk, nonviolent incarcerated persons to minimum-security facilities or to other forms of supervision."
Full Georgia Department of Corrections response
The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) is extremely disappointed to learn today of the decision by the Department of Justice to issue a Notice Letter leveling a variety of accusations against our prison system. The Notice Letter fails to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of our staff – from corrections officers to nurses to vocational trainers – who have dedicated themselves to the care and rehabilitation of the inmates in our prison system. The Notice Letter also ignores many of the successful initiatives undertaken to improve conditions inside our prisons for our staff and our inmates.
Contrary to DOJ’s allegations, the State of Georgia’s prison system operates in a manner exceeding the requirements of the United States Constitution. In short, the Notice Letter focuses on the challenges faced by prison systems across our country – correctional staffing, violence perpetuated by inmates, and unlawful gang activity. These issues also plague the Federal Bureau of Prisons – DOJ’s own prison system. Hence, DOJ’s findings today reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the current challenges of operating any prison system.
The GDC fully cooperated with DOJ’s investigation and will continue to do so as we begin discussions with DOJ over next steps. As history demonstrates, DOJ’s track record in prison oversight is poor – often entangling systems in years of expensive and unproductive court monitoring. As merely one example, court monitoring instigated by DOJ at Riker’s Island remains on-going after eight years, despite the fact that New York City employs one jail guard for every inmate at Riker’s Island.
Finally, we want to thank all of the men and women who dedicate themselves to our criminal justice system, especially as we recover from the devastation brought by Hurricane Helene. We will continue to support them in our mission of maintaining the safety of our communities across Georgia.
Full Department of Justice investigation report
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