TellMyStory

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

After a suicide attempt and arrest in the early 2000s, I entered Georgia’s prison system carrying self-hatred and confusion. Four years in solitary confinement became the turning point where I found faith, sobriety, and purpose—transforming isolation into a space for growth, creativity, and reconciliation.

When Marcus broke his hand at Georgia State Prison, he filed sick call requests immediately. Three weeks and seven requests later, he finally saw a doctor—but by then, the bones had already set wrong. Now 34 years old with a permanently damaged hand, Marcus shares his story of medical neglect and the solidarity that keeps incarcerated people human in a system that treats them otherwise.

In January 2015, I entered Georgia’s prison system at Jackson Diagnostic. Within a week, I witnessed guards stand by as gangs beat a man to death. Over two months, I saw 50 people beaten into gangs while living in freezing, windowless dorms with no activities and constant violence.