"There Is No Good Time": Georgia's Prisons Are in Crisis, and the State Won't Let People Earn Their Way Home
GDC tells people in prison that programs can shorten a sentence. The Parole Board's handbook...
GDC status: Major
A man was killed at Macon State Prison on October 21. GDC is investigating his death as a homicide.
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The Georgia Department of Corrections says it is investigating the death of Juld Carter, who was serving a life sentence, as a homicide. It has released no details. The GBI Crime Lab will determine the cause of death.
Prisons named in these reports
How GPS knows. People inside send reports to GPS through our relay. GPS staff read and approve each one before it counts here.
From the State's Own Reports
Georgia reported more homicides in custody than California, Florida and Texas combined.
310 homicides for FY2020 to FY2024. The three states together reported 294.
Source: BJA DCRA data. State-reported counts under the Death in Custody Reporting Act; the federal program says states undercount.
Georgia's prisons are killing people.
1,914+
Deaths Since 2020
210
Deaths in 2026 So Far 34 homicides
51,917
People in Georgia's Prisons
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Our Reform Agenda
Two Visions. One Goal.
GPS is building a comprehensive reform agenda for Georgia's criminal justice system. These are not theoretical proposals — they are active campaigns backed by data, legal precedent, and public mandate.
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End the Warehouse
Transform Prisons from Punishment to Rehabilitation
Georgia spends $1.8 billion on prisons and $52 per person on rehabilitation. The DOJ has declared the system unconstitutional. Our two-track plan uses litigation to reduce overcrowding and evidence-based programs to build real rehabilitation — making Georgia safer.
216%Overcrowding
$52Rehab/Person/Yr
46:1Surveillance Ratio
Vision 2027
Post-Conviction Justice Reform
Three model bills targeting the 2027 Georgia legislature: restore habeas corpus rights, fix ineffective counsel rules, and create Conviction Integrity Units. The legislature doesn't need new laws — it needs to enforce two dormant statutes it already passed. Freeing people who shouldn't be in prison — because the system that put them there is broken.
3Model Bills
8,028Parole-Eligible Lifers
90%Voter Support
No Way Out
Featured Article
Prison Phone Scams Are Adding Years to Georgia Sentences
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Georgia Can't Block Its Way Out of Prison Phone Scams. Let the Phones In, and Listen.
Georgia's prisons can't block or seize their way out of phone scams. GPS argues for...
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Every Georgia correctional facility, with death counts, conditions, and leadership.
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