Georgia runs the nation’s largest felony probation system — 191,000 people — with stark racial disparities and costs 27.7x higher than community supervision alternatives.
Nearly 2,985 corrections officer positions sit empty across Georgia’s prisons — a nearly 50% vacancy rate. The DOJ found this crisis directly enables gang control and endangers nearly 52,000 people in state custody.
Georgia’s prison budget surged 44% in four years — nearly $500 million — while the state extracts over $10M annually in fees from incarcerated people and their families.
A Georgia Senate committee found 47% of prison security posts vacant, all seven close security prisons past their lifespan, and 14,000 people with mental health needs behind bars.
Black Georgians are 31% of the population but 61% of the state prison population. New research compilation documents compounding racial disparities at every stage of Georgia’s criminal justice system.
Georgia’s Parole Board released 42% fewer people from prison in FY24 than five years ago. People serving life sentences now wait 29.2 years — with a 3.3% approval rate.
DOJ finds Georgia prisons violate the Constitution: 142 people killed in six years, officer vacancy rates above 50%, and systemic failures across staffing, security, and investigations.
DOJ finds Georgia violates the constitutional rights of nearly 50,000 incarcerated people: 142 killed in six years, guard posts half-empty, and zero sexual abuse investigations met federal standards.
Twenty Georgia state prisons operate at emergency-level staff vacancies — some reaching 70% — while gang membership has nearly doubled and lock failures enable contraband access. An independent assessment finds facilities “unable to maintain safe operations.”
