Women in Georgia Prisons: What Families Need to Know

TL;DR

Georgia locks up women at a rate higher than almost every country on Earth. As of April 2025, 3,850 women are held in state prisons. The number of women in prison grew 27% in just three years. A federal probe found that Georgia prisons break the law by failing to keep people safe. Women face gang violence, sexual assault by staff, and deadly medical neglect. Families pay the price through high phone costs and marked-up store prices.

Why This Matters

If your loved one is a woman in a Georgia prison, this report lays out what she faces every day.

She may wait 10 months to see a mental health doctor. She may live in a prison where gangs run the dorms. If she is pregnant, she may be sent back to prison just 48 hours after giving birth.

The state knows about these problems. A federal probe proved that Georgia prisons break the law. But the state rejected the findings. And the federal probe is now dead.

This means families must know their rights. They must push for change. And they must hold the state to account.

Key Takeaway: Georgia’s own prisons were found to break the law — and the state refused to fix the problems.

Georgia Locks Up Women at a Shocking Rate

Georgia locks up 177 women for every 100,000 female residents. That is more than triple the national average of about 51 per 100,000.

To put it simply: Georgia locks up women at a higher rate than almost every country on Earth.

The number keeps growing. In 2022, there were 3,014 women in state prison. By 2025, that number hit 3,850 — a 27% jump in just three years. That growth costs taxpayers about $21 million more per year.

Back in 1978, just 497 women were in Georgia prisons. Today it is nearly eight times that number.

Key Takeaway: Georgia locks up women more than three times the national rate — and the number keeps climbing.

Race and Sentencing: The Deeper You Look, the Worse It Gets

Black women make up about 32% of Georgia’s female population. But they make up 41.53% of women in prison.

The gap gets even worse for the longest sentences. Among 431 women serving life sentences, Black women make up 56.61% — that’s 244 women. So while Black women are about 4 in 10 women in prison overall, they are nearly 6 in 10 women serving life.

This pattern shows that racial bias gets worse at every stage of the system. The harsher the sentence, the bigger the gap.

Key Takeaway: Black women are 32% of Georgia’s women but 56.61% of women serving life in prison.

A Federal Probe Found Georgia Breaks the Law

In October 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released a 93-page report. The probe started in August 2021.

The DOJ found that Georgia prisons violate the Eighth Amendment. That is the part of the Constitution that bans cruel and unusual punishment.

The report found:

• Widespread violence
• Sexual violence
• Gangs running prisons
• Medical neglect
• The state hiding how people really died

Georgia rejected the findings. No agreement to fix the problems was reached. Under the current federal government, the probe is now dead.

Key Takeaway: The federal government proved Georgia prisons are cruel and unlawful — then Georgia refused to act.

Gangs Took Over a Women’s Prison

In 2022, reporters revealed that Bloods gang members seized control of Pulaski State Prison.

Here is what was found:

• At least three sexual assaults, including two women attacked at knifepoint
• A woman whose ear was partly bitten off
• Gang members forced women to pay through Cash App for basic things
• One mother, Pamela Dixon, paid $10,000–$12,000 to protect her daughter

This happened because the state failed to staff the prison. Pulaski had more empty guard jobs than any other prison in the state.

Key Takeaway: When guards aren’t there, gangs fill the gap — and women pay the price with their safety.

Two Women Killed Eight Days Apart in the Same Unit

Sherry Joyce, age 61, was strangled to death on April 27, 2024, at Lee Arrendale State Prison. She was killed in a mental health unit.

Eight days later, on May 5, Hallie Reed, age 23, was strangled in the same unit.

Hallie Reed had asked to be moved to a safer place after Sherry Joyce was killed. The prison said no. She was dead eight days later.

At the time, 44% of guard jobs at Lee Arrendale were empty. Almost half the staff was missing.

In the entire country, only 9 women died from murder in all state prisons between 2001 and 2019. Georgia had three in just two years.

Key Takeaway: Hallie Reed asked to be moved to safety after a killing in her unit — the prison denied her, and she was killed eight days later.

The Staffing Crisis: More Than Half of Guard Jobs Empty

In 2022, 56.3% of all guard jobs in Georgia prisons were empty. That means 2,985 out of 5,991 positions had no one in them.

It’s not just about hiring. Between January 2021 and November 2024, 82.7% of new hires quit within their first year. More than 8 out of 10 new guards walked away.

At Lee Arrendale, 62% of guard jobs were empty in December 2020. By April 2024 — when two women were killed — it was still at 44%.

When prisons don’t have enough staff, people inside are not safe. The DOJ probe made this clear.

Key Takeaway: More than half of all guard jobs were empty, and 8 out of 10 new hires quit within a year.

A Doctor’s Deadly Neglect: 22 People Died

Dr. Yvon Nazaire was the medical director at Pulaski State Prison from 2006 to 2015.

At least 22 people died under his care — 15 at Pulaski, 5 after release, and 2 at another prison.

He was hired even though:

• New York had cited him for gross neglect (very serious failures in care)
• He had four claims of patients dying from bad care
• He was on probation (meaning he was being watched for past problems)

Georgia’s medical board gave him a full license anyway. He cut costs by refusing to send sick people to see specialists.

The state paid more than $3 million to settle lawsuits. That includes $1.5 million for Mollianne Fischer and $925,000 for Bonnie Rocheleau. A state criminal probe started in 2015. There is no public record of any charges.

Key Takeaway: Georgia hired a doctor with a known record of deadly neglect — then 22 people died under his care.

Healthcare in Crisis: Long Waits, Low Funding

Georgia ranks 43rd out of 49 states in how much it spends on prison healthcare — just $3,610 per person.

The DOJ found that people wait 10 months to see a mental health doctor. Only about 10% of people with Hepatitis C or HIV are getting treatment.

Yet 81% of women in Georgia prisons need mental health care.

In July 2024, a company called Centurion Health took over prison healthcare. They got a $2.4 billion contract for 9 years — with no bidding from other companies.

The prior company left after saying it spent $32 million more than expected, partly due to the violence inside.

Key Takeaway: 81% of women need mental health care, but the DOJ found 10-month waits to see a doctor.

Pregnant Women Face Dangerous Neglect

About 4% of women enter Georgia prisons while pregnant. That leads to about 50–100 births each year in state custody.

After giving birth, mothers are sent back to prison within 48 hours. Georgia has no prison nursery program.

Here are two cases that show what women face:

• Jessica Umberger said she was forced to have a C-section against her will in 2018
• Another woman begged for 13 hours to be taken to a hospital — her newborn died four days later

A 2019 law (the Georgia Dignity Act) banned the shackling (chaining) of pregnant women. But a legal group found five women shackled or put in solitary within six months of giving birth at Lee Arrendale in 2021. The state reported zero such cases in 2022.

Key Takeaway: Mothers are sent back to prison within 48 hours of giving birth — and the state has no nursery program.

Survivors of Abuse Are Being Punished for Surviving

A study of women entering Georgia prisons found:

• 78% were physically abused by a partner
• 60% were told their partner would kill them
• 81% reported 5 or more traumatic events in their lives

About 200 survivors of domestic violence were found in Georgia prisons between 2016 and 2025. Of those, 58% are serving life or near-life sentences.

In May 2025, Georgia passed the Survivor Justice Act. This new law:

• Lets courts hear evidence of abuse at trial
• Creates a path for people already in prison to ask for new sentences
• Can reduce life sentences to 10–30 years for survivors

The first person freed under this law was Nicole Boynton. She was released in January 2025 after 23 years in prison.

Key Takeaway: 78% of women entering Georgia prisons were abused by a partner — and more than half of known survivors are serving life.

Families Are Being Drained of Money

Georgia pays people in prison $0 for their labor. It is one of only seven states that pay nothing.

So where does the money for basics come from? Families.

The prison store (called a commissary) brings in about $47 million a year. The profit margin is about 66%. Prices are marked up 67% to 280%.

GPS found 153 items where the vendor dropped its prices — but the prison system kept prices the same or raised them. That took about $420,000 extra from people in prison.

The state also cut $5 million from its 2021 budget by raising commissary prices.

Phone calls are also costly. The phone company, Securus, paid $8,062,201 in kickbacks to the state. That’s a 59.6% commission. Research shows 87% of the cost of staying in touch falls on women — the mothers, wives, and sisters on the outside.

Women inside must also buy their own menstrual products at marked-up prices.

Key Takeaway: Georgia pays people in prison $0 — then charges their families marked-up prices for basic needs.

Georgia Paid $130 Million for a Prison Worth $48 Million

In 2023, Georgia bought a prison called McRae from a private company called CoreCivic. The price was $130 million.

But the county tax records valued the property at about $48 million. That’s a gap of $82 million.

By August 2025, the prison held about 1,200 women. It can hold up to 2,275.

Meanwhile, Georgia ranks 43rd out of 49 states in healthcare spending per person in prison. The state spends just $3,610 per person on care.

Key Takeaway: Georgia overpaid $82 million for a private prison while ranking near the bottom in healthcare spending.

Georgia’s Prison Death Rate Is 70% Higher Than the National Average

People die in Georgia prisons at a rate of about 584 per 100,000. The national average is 344 per 100,000. That makes Georgia’s rate about 70% higher.

In March 2024, the Georgia Department of Corrections stopped sharing how people die. They no longer publish cause-of-death data.

The DOJ also found that Georgia hides the true cause of deaths. The state sorted deaths in misleading ways.

When the state hides this data, families can’t get answers. And no one can be held to account.

Key Takeaway: Georgia’s prison death rate is 70% higher than the national average — and the state stopped sharing how people die.

Getting Out: Not Enough Help for Women

Georgia has 2,761 beds at centers that help people get ready for release. Only about 346 of those beds — just 12.5% — are set aside for women.

Worse, the state’s housing help program does not pay for housing that includes children. Nearly half of women in prison (46.34%) have at least one person who depends on them.

So a mother leaving prison may get help finding a place to live — but not if her children come with her.

Georgia does not publish return-to-prison rates broken down by gender. The overall 3-year rate is about 27%.

Key Takeaway: Only 12.5% of reentry beds serve women, and housing help excludes children.

What the State Refuses to Share

There are many things the public still does not know. Georgia hides or does not collect key data about women in prison.

Here are some of the biggest gaps:

• How many women die and from what causes (stopped sharing in March 2024)
• How many pregnancies end in miscarriage or stillbirth
• How many mothers have minor children
• Mental health staffing levels at each women’s prison
• Return-to-prison rates for women
• Results of sexual abuse audits at women’s prisons
• Details of the $2.4 billion healthcare contract

This hidden data makes it harder for families and the public to know what is really happening.

Key Takeaway: Georgia hides key data — including how people die — making it nearly impossible to hold the state to account.

Glossary

• GDC — Georgia Department of Corrections. The state agency that runs Georgia’s prisons.
• DOJ — U.S. Department of Justice. The federal agency that investigated Georgia’s prisons.
• Eighth Amendment — The part of the U.S. Constitution that bans cruel and unusual punishment.
• LWOP — Life Without Parole. A sentence that keeps someone in prison until they die, with no chance of release.
• PREA — Prison Rape Elimination Act. A federal law meant to stop sexual abuse in prisons.
• Commissary — The prison store where people buy food, hygiene items, and other basics.
• Consent decree — A legal agreement where a state promises a court it will fix problems. Georgia refused to agree to one.
• CoreCivic — A private prison company (used to be called Corrections Corporation of America) that sold the McRae prison to Georgia.
• Centurion Health — The private company now running healthcare in Georgia prisons under a $2.4 billion contract.
• Survivor Justice Act — A 2025 Georgia law that lets abuse survivors bring evidence of their abuse to court and ask for shorter sentences.
• Georgia Dignity Act — A 2019 law that bans chaining pregnant women in prison and putting them in solitary (being alone in a cell).
• RSAT — Residential Substance Abuse Treatment. A 9-month program for people dealing with addiction.
• MAT — Medication-Assisted Treatment. Using medicine to treat addiction. Georgia only offers one type (Vivitrol) at one prison.
• Transitional Center — A low-security facility where people near release can work outside and prepare to go home.
• Virtual life — A very long sentence (often 30+ years) that works like a life sentence because the person may not live long enough to get out.
• GPS — Georgia Prisoners’ Speak. Our organization — an investigative newsroom documenting prison conditions through data.
• GCADV — Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The group that led the push for the Survivor Justice Act.
• SCHR — Southern Center for Human Rights. A legal group that fights for the rights of people in prison.
• Gross negligence — Very serious failures in care that a reasonable person would not make. Much worse than a simple mistake.

Read the Source Document

This post is based on the GPS research brief: Women’s Incarceration in Georgia: A Comprehensive Investigative Research Brief (March 2026).

Read the full report (PDF) →

Other Versions of This Post

We wrote this post for different audiences:

• For Legislators — Policy-focused version with budget and legal details
• For Media — Press-ready version with key findings and data
• For Advocates — Detailed version with action items and talking points