Inside Georgia Prisons

“An inmate at Wheeler Correctional Facility in Alamo has been sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison for his role in a southern Georgia drug trafficking operation.” - 41NBC / WMGT

Wheeler inmate gets 15-plus years in federal drug case - 41NBC News | WMGT-DT A Wheeler Correctional Facility inmate in Alamo was sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking operation.

“The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) is investigating the recent deaths of two Washington State Prison inmates who died within one day of each other.” - WGXA.tv

Two inmates at Washington State Prison die within 24 hours, GDC says Two inmates have died from Washington State Prison just wqithin one day of eachother.

“The Georgia Department of Corrections is investigating an “altercation” involving three inmates at Dooly State Prison.” - 41NBC / WMGT

Inmate hospitalized after Dooly State Prison 'altercation' - 41NBC News | WMGT-DT The Georgia Department of Corrections is investigating an altercation involving three inmates at Dooly State Prison

“An inmate at Telfair State Prison died on Sunday after an altercation with another inmate, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.” - 41NBC / WMGT

GDC: Telfair State Prison inmate dies after altercation - 41NBC News | WMGT-DT An inmate at Telfair State Prison died after an altercation with another inmate, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections

𝟔 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐒. 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐍 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍. 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐘. 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐏𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐘.

When we first wrote about Washington State Prison, it had been 40 days since the January 11 incident. Forty days of no commissary, no visitation, no outside recreation.

That was four months ago.

It is now nearly six months. And the collective punishment hasn't stopped — it has simply been formalized into a new normal. Men who had nothing to do with January 11 are now allowed just $30 a week at commissary. Normal access is $80. That $30 doesn't cover the basics — and it was never meant to. It's a ration, not a policy.

Six months. No outside rec. No visitation. The people actually involved in the January 11 event were identified and transferred months ago. So we ask again, louder this time:

Why is everyone else still being punished?

Let's be clear about what this is. This is collective punishment, and it violates GDC's own rules.

GDC Standard Operating Procedure 227.07 states commissary access can only be restricted for an individual offender as a disciplinary sanction. SOP 209.01 requires notice of infractions, a disciplinary hearing, and a chance to present a defense. Six months in, none of that has happened for the hundreds of men still being denied these basic services. Not one Disciplinary Report justifies what is being done to them.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬. If the conflict driving these lockdowns is between rival groups, the answer is to identify and separate those individuals — not to strip hundreds of uninvolved men of food, family, and fresh air for half a year. GDC knows who is affiliated with what. The tools to manage this exist. The refusal to use them, and to instead punish everyone, is a choice.
𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬

And the question GDC still refuses to answer: What is being done about the leadership failures that made January 11 possible in the first place?

A riot doesn't happen in a vacuum. It happens when a facility is understaffed, when security protocols fail, when warning signs are ignored. Washington State Prison was left vulnerable, and six months later GDC is still punishing the people at the bottom while protecting the people at the top.

If you are reading about the conditions in Georgia prisons and are not actively taking actions like calling your senators or representatives, then YOU ARE complicit in the deaths that follow.

WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO RIGHT NOW:

📞 Call the GDC Ombudsman — (404) 656-6002. File a formal complaint. Every affected family should call. Volume matters.

📞 Call the Governor's office — (404) 656-1776. Demand answers about why collective punishment has continued for six months in violation of GDC's own policies.

✉️ Contact your state legislators — Tell them what's happening at Washington SP. Name the SOPs being violated. Ask what they plan to do about it.

📝 Document everything — Dates, what your loved one tells you, every denied visit and restricted week. Six months of dated records is evidence.

⚖️ Contact legal organizations — The Southern Center for Human Rights and the ACLU of Georgia may be interested in a case where GDC has violated its own SOPs for six months and counting.

🤝 Coordinate with other families — One family calling gets ignored. Twenty families calling the same week gets a meeting. Find each other. Act together.

Don't just be upset — put it on the record. Paper trails create accountability.

View Warden Stewart’s accountability record here:
https://gps.press/intelligence/personnel/stewart-veronica-m/

“Two former guards at Augusta State Medical Prison have been found not guilty in connection with the death of an inmate.” - News 12 26 Augusta

Former Augusta State Medical Prison guards acquitted in inmate death Two former guards at Augusta State Medical Prison have been found not guilty in connection with the death of an inmate.

“They said that Kojack Thomas Jr., 27, was pronounced dead on Sunday. Thomas was an inmate at Ware State Prison located in Ware County, which is right at the Georgia-Florida dividing line.” - 13 WMAZ

Inmate convicted of murder in Central Georgia killed in potential homicide in South Georgia prison, GDC says A man convicted of murder in Dodge County is dead after a potential homicide on May 31, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. Here's what we know.

“A man convicted and sentenced for stabbing and killing his fellow Hancock State Prison inmate unsuccessfully attempted to appeal his conviction two years later.” - 13 WMAZ

'That dude in the next cell need help' | Georgia Supreme Court rejects inmates' appeal in Hancock State Prison murder Javaris Compton was convicted in 2024 for killing a fellow inmate in 2021 and was sentenced to life in prison. He attempted to appeal the ruling two years later.