2026 - Georgia Prisoners’ Speak

The Room Is Ready, But He’s Still Gone

After 20 months of daily contact with her son in county jail, a mother describes the sudden silence that followed his transfer to Jackson prison three weeks ago. She shares her experience of living with fear, navigating impossible parole requirements, and preparing a room for a son she can no longer reach.

Tylenol and Empty Promises

After eight years at Dooly State Prison in Georgia, what haunts most isn’t the violence—it’s the medical neglect. This is the story of watching a cellmate die from untreated cancer over two years, receiving only Tylenol until a lawyer’s threat finally prompted action—too late.

What You’re Really Paying For

The Georgia Department of Corrections isn’t interested in rehabilitation—it’s creating a cycle that guarantees more crime and more victims. Taxpayers fund a system that returns people to communities more damaged and dangerous than when they entered, ultimately victimizing the public that pays for it.

Let Me Go or Just Execute Me

At 69, after serving 45 years in Georgia prisons, he lives with prostate cancer, constant violence, and seven parole denials. In a cell with over 100 combined years of incarceration, he and two other elderly men face the daily reality of aging behind bars with no end in sight.

Above the Law: GDC Defies Courts, DOJ, and Legislators

Two federal judges. The U.S. Department of Justice. State legislators. A U.S. Senator. The press. Georgia’s Department of Corrections has stonewalled, obstructed, deceived, or defied every institution meant to hold it accountable — and paid no price. GPS traces the documented pattern.

Pulaski State Prison Crisis: Untested Warden, Deadly History

GPS investigates Pulaski State Prison under Warden Wendy Jackson, tracing how an untested leader inherited a facility scarred by decades of lethal medical neglect, gang violence, sexual assault, and federal findings of unconstitutional conditions — and what families are reporting now.

They Have Hope, So I Play My Part

Sentenced to life in 1996, this narrator has witnessed Georgia’s prison system transform from a structured, program-rich environment to a dangerous, gang-dominated warehouse. Through budget cuts, short-staffing, and mass punishment policies, he explains why the system has become more violent—and why it’s not lifers causing the problems.

Covered in Ants

Covered in ants in a dark lockdown cell with no water, I screamed for help. Officers laughed and left me to suffer for two weeks. This was my punishment for refusing gang-controlled housing in a Georgia prison—a choice that led to 18 months of isolation that broke my spirit.

Escaping the Cave: Plato’s Lesson for Prisoners and Families

Over 2,400 years ago, Plato described prisoners chained in a cave, mistaking shadows for reality. His allegory speaks directly to the experience of incarceration — and reveals why education is the most powerful path to transformation, both for individuals behind bars and for society as a whole.

The Nature and Circumstances

Eligible for parole after seven years on a life sentence, he thought the system worked simply: serve your time, show you’ve changed, go home. Forty-one years later, he’s still waiting. This is his account of navigating Georgia’s parole system—a cycle of denials, broken promises, and punishments that feel like re-sentencing.