Georgia’s Prison Crisis Stems from Deliberate Federal War on Drugs Policies

Georgia’s current prison crisis—with record deaths and collapsed parole—directly results from deliberate federal War on Drugs policies that criminalized communities while tolerating CIA-linked drug trafficking.

Mass incarceration emerged from documented federal policy decisions during the War on Drugs era, including tolerance of CIA-linked drug trafficking abroad while criminalizing affected communities at home. Georgia’s adoption of Truth in Sentencing laws in 1994-1995, incentivized by federal prison construction funding, created the framework that still drives record prison deaths and collapsed parole today.

Facility Breakdown

What GPS Documented (Original Findings)

• U.S. prison population increased by more than 500 percent from late 1970s through 2010s, even as crime rates eventually declined (GPS analysis of Bureau of Justice Statistics Prisoners Series)
• Georgia adopted Truth in Sentencing laws in 1994-1995, including ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ requiring 100% sentence completion with no parole (GPS analysis of Georgia Laws 1994 and constitutional amendment records)
• Georgia received $82,211,036 in federal VOI/TIS prison construction funding from 1996-2001 for adopting Truth in Sentencing (GPS analysis of federal VOI/TIS grant records)
• CIA Inspector General investigations confirmed key elements of Gary Webb’s reporting about Contra-linked cocaine trafficking (GPS analysis of CIA Office of Inspector General Report 1998)

Data source: GPS analysis of federal records, Georgia legislation, and historical documents

What DOJ Already Confirmed

• Constitutional violations in Georgia prisons including record deaths, understaffing, and violence (Pages Throughout report)

What GDC Concealed

• Connection between federal incentive funding and Georgia’s adoption of harsh sentencing laws
• Historical context showing mass incarceration was policy choice, not crime response

Quotables

“We hated the Vietnam War. We couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities.”

— John Ehrlichman, Nixon’s domestic policy chief

“Here’s the bottom line: We are going to end parole for violent criminals and make them serve the full sentences they receive. No parole. No loopholes. No exceptions.”

— Former Governor Zell Miller

“Mass incarceration was not a response to crime—it was a political project.”

— GPS analysis

Story Angles

• Local: How federal War on Drugs policies shaped current conditions in specific Georgia counties and facilities
• Policy: Georgia received $82 million in federal incentives to adopt harsh sentencing—what were the results vs. costs?
• Accountability: Officials who implemented Truth in Sentencing knew the consequences—why do they persist despite DOJ findings?
• Data: Compare Georgia’s incarceration timeline to crime rates and federal funding to show policy drove prison growth, not crime

Records Journalists Should Request

Georgia Open Records Act:

1. Legislative records for Sentence Reform Act of 1994 — Georgia General Assembly
2. Records of federal VOI/TIS grant applications and awards — Georgia Department of Corrections

Federal FOIA:

1. VOI/TIS Incentive Grant Program records for Georgia — DOJ Bureau of Justice Assistance
2. CIA Inspector General reports on Contra-drug connections — Central Intelligence Agency

Sources Available for Interview

Experts:

• Michelle Alexander — Union Theological Seminary, former ACLU
• Marc Mauer — Former Executive Director, The Sentencing Project
• Bruce Western — Harvard University

Officials Who Should Be Asked for Comment

• Brian Kemp, Governor — Current authority over prison system facing DOJ constitutional violations finding
• Tyrone Oliver, Commissioner — Direct oversight of prison system with record deaths and constitutional violations

Questions GDC Has Not Answered

1. How does Georgia justify maintaining Truth in Sentencing laws despite evidence of failure?
2. Why have parole grant rates collapsed to historic lows?
3. How does Georgia address spending billions on incarceration while crime declined?

Source Documents

• GPS GDC Statistics Database — Current Georgia prison population, capacity, and operational statistics
• GPS GDC Mortality Statistics Database — Searchable database of prison deaths starting in 2020, searchable by facility
• GPS Facilities Directory — Comprehensive directory of Georgia prison facilities with mortality data
• Sentence Reform Act of 1994 — Primary legislation establishing Georgia’s Truth in Sentencing framework
• CIA Inspector General Report 1998 — Confirmed CIA tolerance of Contra-linked drug trafficking during War on Drugs