Georgia Prisons Extract $47M Annually from Families Through Commissary Price Manipulation

Georgia's Department of Corrections operates a two-tier markup scheme that extracts $47 million annually from families of 53,500 inmates, charging up to 1,800% above wholesale prices for basic necessities. When vendor costs decreased on 153 items in 2025, the state kept those savings while raising inmate prices, pocketing an additional $420,000 in profit.

Key Facts

1. Georgia sold 30.8 million commissary items in 2024, buying them for $28.3M and charging families $47M—generating $18.7M in profit
2. Ramen costs inmates $0.90 per packet versus $0.20 true wholesale—Georgia sold 7+ million packets in 2024
3. Generic ibuprofen costs inmates $4.00 for what should cost $0.44 at fair wholesale pricing plus reasonable markup
4. Stewart's Distribution serves as both Georgia's prison vendor and convenience store supplier, creating a pipeline for near-expired products
5. GDC quoted $88,944 in retrieval costs to provide records showing how $18.7M in commissary profits were spent

Quotables

I'm 67 and on disability. I get $943 a month. I send my son $50 twice a month because if I don't, he goes without soap and food. That's $100 I don't have for my blood pressure medication.

They buy it cheap because stores can't sell it. We pay full price because we can't say no. That's not a market—that's extortion.

What’s New

• Investigation reveals 153 items where vendor costs decreased but inmate prices increased, generating $420,000 in additional profit through 'discount reversals'
• Stewart's Distribution operates both prison commissaries and convenience store supply chains, creating systematic pipeline for expired/rejected products sold at premium prices

Accountability

Commissioner Tyrone Oliver controls institutional markups and can reduce prices immediately through administrative action without legislative approval or vendor permission

Reporting Leads

1. Request GDC's Inmate Welfare Fund expenditure records to trace where $18.7M in commissary profits actually go
2. Interview Stewart's Distribution executives about dual role supplying convenience stores and prisons from same Blackshear, GA facility
3. Examine expired product dating and quality control procedures at individual prison commissaries statewide

Related Assets

• Master Commissary Price List
• Source Data Analysis
• Impact Justice AI Contact Tool