BURRUSS C.T.C
Facility Information
- Original Design Capacity
- 300 (at 248% capacity)
- Bed Capacity
- 806 beds
- Current Population
- 745
- Active Lifers
- 100 (13.4% of population) · Apr 2026 GDC report
Read: Brown v. Plata - A Legal Roadmap for Georgia's Prison Crisis →
- Address
- 1000 Indian Springs Drive, Forsyth, GA 31029
- Mailing Address
- P.O. Box 5849, Forsyth, GA 31029
- County
- Monroe County
- Opened
- 1986
- Operator
- GDC (Georgia Dept. of Corrections)
- Warden
- Chanel Samuel
- Phone
- (478) 994-7512
- Fax
- (478) 994-7561
- Staff
- Deputy Warden Security: Reginald Clark
- Deputy Warden C&T: Jacqueline Fanning
- Deputy Warden Admin: Delores Henderson
About
Burruss Correctional Training Center in Forsyth is a medium-security “special-mission” prison that houses both adult and juvenile male offenders sentenced as adults. Opened in 1986, Burruss combines standard general-population housing with specialized units for youthful offenders. The facility emphasizes education and vocational training – including a charter high school, GED and adult basic education, and technical programs – and also supports outside details and industries alongside traditional security operations.
Mortality Statistics
5 deaths documented at this facility from 2020 to present.
Deaths by Year
- 2026: 0
- 2025: 1
- 2024: 3
- 2023: 0
- 2022: 1
- 2021: 0
- 2020: 0
County Public Health Department
Food service and sanitation at BURRUSS C.T.C fall under the jurisdiction of the Monroe County Environmental Health Department. Incarcerated people cannot choose where they eat — public health inspectors carry an elevated responsibility to hold this kitchen to the same standards applied to any restaurant.
Contact
- Title
- EH Specialist
- Name
- Macdonald Aloh
- Address
-
106 Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr.
Forsyth, GA 31029 - Phone
- (478) 993-3081
- Macdonald.Aloh@dph.ga.gov
- Website
- Visit department website →
Why this matters
GPS has documented black mold on chow-hall ceilings, cold and contaminated trays, spoiled milk, and pest contamination at Georgia prisons. The Department of Justice's 2024 report confirmed deaths from dehydration and untreated diabetes tied to food and water deprivation. Advance-notice inspections let facilities stage temporary fixes that disappear once inspectors leave.
Unannounced inspections by the county health department are one of the few outside checks on kitchen conditions behind the fence.
How you can help
Write to the county inspector and request an unannounced inspection of the kitchen and food service operation at this facility. A short, respectful letter citing Georgia food-safety regulations is more powerful than you think — inspectors respond to public concern.
Sample Letter
This is the letter Georgia Prisoners' Speak mailed to all county environmental health inspectors responsible for GDC facilities. Feel free to adapt it.
April 26, 2026
RE: Request for Unannounced Public Health Inspection of Food Service Operations at BURRUSS C.T.C
Dear Macdonald Aloh,
I am writing to respectfully request that your office conduct a thorough, unannounced inspection of food service and sanitation practices at BURRUSS C.T.C, located in Monroe County.
Documented concerns
Georgia Prisoners' Speak, a nonprofit public advocacy organization, has published extensive investigative reporting on food safety and nutrition failures across Georgia's prison system, including:
- Dangerous sanitation conditions — black mold on chow hall ceilings and air vents, contaminated food trays, and spoiled milk served to inmates.
- Severe nutritional deficiency — roughly 60 cents per meal; inmates receive only 40% of required protein and less than one serving of vegetables per day.
- Preventable deaths — the U.S. Department of Justice's 2024 report confirmed deaths from dehydration, renal failure, and untreated diabetes following food and water deprivation.
- Staged compliance — advance-notice inspections allow facilities to stage temporary improvements, then revert once inspectors leave.
Firsthand testimony
In Surviving on Scraps: Ten Years of Prison Food in Georgia, a person who has spent more than ten years in GDC custody describes no functional dishwashing sanitation, chronic mold on food trays, and roaches found on the undersides of trays at intake facilities. Full account: gps.press/surviving-on-scraps-ten-years-of-prison-food-in-georgia.
Specific requests
- Conduct an unannounced inspection of the kitchen and food service operations at this facility, with particular attention to dishwashing equipment, tray sanitation procedures, and food storage conditions.
- Evaluate compliance with applicable Georgia food safety regulations, including O.C.G.A. § 26-2-370 and the Georgia Food Service Rules and Regulations (Chapter 511-6-1).
- Verify permit status and confirm whether the facility is subject to the same inspection schedule as other institutional food service establishments in the county.
- Make inspection results available to the public, as permitted under Georgia's Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70).
Incarcerated individuals cannot advocate for their own health and safety in the way a restaurant patron can — they cannot choose to eat elsewhere. This places an elevated responsibility on public health officials to ensure these facilities meet the same sanitation standards applied to any food service establishment.
Thank you for your attention to this important public health matter.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Food Safety Inspections
Georgia Department of Public Health
What the score doesn't measure. DPH grades kitchen compliance on inspection day — food storage, temperatures, pest control. It does not grade whether today's trays are clean. GPS reporting has found broken dishwashers at most Georgia state prisons we've documented; trays go out wet, stacked, and visibly moldy — including at facilities with recent scores near 100.
Who inspects. Most Georgia state prisons sit in rural counties — often with fewer than 20,000 people, several with fewer than 10,000. The environmental health inspector lives in that community and often knows the kitchen staff personally. Rural inspection regimes don't have the structural independence you'd expect in a city-sized health department. Read the scores accordingly.
Read the investigation: “Dunked, Stacked and Served: Why Georgia Prison Trays Are Making People Sick”
Recent inspections
| Date | Score | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 4, 2026 | 97 | Routine | |
| Oct 8, 2025 | 94 | Routine | |
| Jun 17, 2025 | 95 | Routine | |
| Feb 5, 2025 | 95 | Routine | |
| Oct 7, 2024 | 91 | Routine | |
| May 28, 2024 | 93 | Routine | |
| Jan 29, 2024 | 95 | Routine | |
| Sep 18, 2023 | 99 | Routine | |
| Jun 8, 2023 | 98 | Routine |
March 4, 2026 — Score 97
Routine · Inspector: Larry Emery
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14B |
utensils, equipment and linens: properly stored, dried, handled 511-6-1.05(10)(e)1,2,4 - equipment, utensil, linens, stored 6" off floor in clean, dry location (c) Repeat | 1 | Observed clean dishes being stacked wet after going through the dish machine in the kitchen area, Equipment and Utensils, Air-Drying Required. After cleaning and sanitizing, equipment and utensils:1. Shall be air-dried or used after adequate draining before contact with food. COS The manager will have all dishes air dried properly after being wash, rinse, and sanitized corrected on 3/4/26 |
| 17C |
physical facilities installed, maintained, and clean 511-6-1.07(5)(a),(b) - good repair, physical facilities maintained; cleaning, frequency & restrictions, cleaned often enough to keep them clean (c) | 1 | Observed missing tiles on the side walls on the floor in the kitchen, All floors within the facility should be in good repair and smooth, durable, and easily cleanable for areas where food service establishment operations are conducted. The manager will have maintenance repair the tiles by 4/1/26 |
October 8, 2025 — Score 94
Routine · Inspector: Larry Emery
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2B |
food-contact surfaces: cleaned & sanitized 511-6-1.05(6)(l) - mechanical warewashing, hot water sanitization temperatures(p) | 4 | Observed the hot sanitization is not working on the dishmachine for the sanitizing cycle, in a mechanical operation, the temperature of the fresh hot water sanitizing rinse as it enters the manifold may not be more than 194ºF (90ºC), or less than: Pf(i) For a stationary rack, single temperature machine, 165ºF (74ºC); Pf or(ii) For all other machines, 180ºF (82ºC). The maintenance will fix the hot water sanatazation for 180 or higher by 10/30/25 |
| 14B |
utensils, equipment and linens: properly stored, dried, handled 511-6-1.05(10)(a) - equipment & utensils, air-drying required (c) Repeat | 1 | Observed clean dishes being stacked wet after going through the dish machine in the kitchen area, Equipment and Utensils, Air-Drying Required. After cleaning and sanitizing, equipment and utensils:1. Shall be air-dried or used after adequate draining before contact with food. COS The manager will have all dishes air dried properly after being wash, rinse, and sanitized |
June 17, 2025 — Score 95
Routine · Inspector: Larry Emery
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14A |
in-use utensils: properly stored 511-6-1.04(4)(k) - in-use utensils, between-use storage (c) | 1 | Observed a ice scoop lying inside the ice machine, all in use utensil such a ice scoop must be stored in container or stored in the ice bend with the handle up between usage o prevent contamination. COS ice scoop removed and placed in a container for protection corrected 6/17/25 |
| 14B |
utensils, equipment and linens: properly stored, dried, handled 511-6-1.05(10)(a) - equipment & utensils, air-drying required (c) Repeat | 1 | Observed clean dishes being stacked wet after going through the dish machine in the kitchen area, Equipment and Utensils, Air-Drying Required. After cleaning and sanitizing, equipment and utensils:1. Shall be air-dried or used after adequate draining before contact with food. COS The manager will have all dishes air dried properly after being wash, rinse, and sanitized |
| 18 |
insects, rodents, and animals not present 511-6-1.07(2)(k) - insect control devices (c) | 3 | Observed lives flies in the kitchen area, . Insect control devices that are used to electrocute or stun flying insects shall be designed to retain the insect within the device.2. Insect control devices shall be installed so that:(i) The devices are not located over a food preparation area. The kitchen needs to keep the door closed much as possible because it has a fan at the backdoor. |
February 5, 2025 — Score 95
Routine · Inspector: Larry Emery
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14B |
utensils, equipment and linens: properly stored, dried, handled 511-6-1.05(10)(a) - equipment & utensils, air-drying required (c) | 1 | Observed clean dishes being stacked wet after going through the dish machine in the kitchen area, Equipment and Utensils, Air-Drying Required. After cleaning and sanitizing, equipment and utensils:1. Shall be air-dried or used after adequate draining before contact with food. The manager will have all dishes air dried properly after being wash, rinse, and sanitized |
| 17C |
physical facilities installed, maintained, and clean 511-6-1.07(5)(a),(b) - good repair, physical facilities maintained; cleaning, frequency & restrictions, cleaned often enough to keep them clean (c) | 1 | Observed missing tiles on the floor in the kitchen, All floors within the facility should be in good repair and smooth, durable, and easily cleanable for areas where food service establishment operations are conducted. The manager will have maintanance repair the tiles by 3/1/25 |
| 18 |
insects, rodents, and animals not present 511-6-1.07(5)(k) - controlling pests (pf, c) | 3 | Observed live roaches in the dish room in the kitchen, The presence of insects, rodents, and other pests shall be controlled to minimize their presence on the premises by: Using methods, if pests are found, such as trapping devices or other means of pest control. |
October 7, 2024 — Score 91
Routine · Inspector: Larry Emery
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2B |
food-contact surfaces: cleaned & sanitized 511-6-1.05(6)(o) - manual warewashing equipment, chemical sanitization using detergent sanitizers(c) | 4 | Observed the employee sanitizing the clean dishes with chlorine sanitizer low than 100 ppm, Manual Warewashing Equipment, Chemical Sanitization Using Detergent-Sanitizers. If a detergent-sanitizer is used to sanitize in a cleaning and sanitizing procedure where there is no distinct water rinse between the washing and sanitizing steps, the agent applied in the sanitizing step shall be the same detergent-sanitizer that is used in the washing step. The manger added the proper chlorine bleach to the sanitizer so the concentration level were correct at 100ppm |
| 12A |
contamination prevented during food preparation, storage, display 511-6-1.04(4)(q) - food storage (c) | 3 | OBserved a carton of stored in the clean ice of the ice machine, food shall be protected from contamination by storing the food. COS The manager removed the carton of milk from the ice |
| 16B |
plumbing installed; proper backflow devices 511-6-1.06(2)(r) - system maintained in good repair (p, c) | 2 | Observed broken pipe under the rinse sink wouldn't hold the rinse water in the sink, System Maintained in Good Repair. A plumbing system shall be repaired according to law; P and maintained in good repair. The maintenance will be repairing the plumbing under the sinks. |
May 28, 2024 — Score 93
Routine · Inspector: Larry Emery
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2B |
food-contact surfaces: cleaned & sanitized 511-6-1.05(7)(b) - food contact surfaces and utensils - cleaning frequency (p, c) | 4 | Observed mildew inside the walls of the ice machine , all food contact surface need to be cleaned and sanitized every 4hr or as needed to prevent the food contact surface from becoming contaminated. COS the inside the walls of the ice machine were cleaned by 6/1/24 |
| 12B |
personal cleanliness 511-6-1.03(5)(j) - hair restraints (c) | 3 | Observed no hair restraint while dishes were being washed, rinses and sanitized, . Employees preparing or handling food shall use effective and clean, disposable or easily cleanable nets or other hair restraints approved by the Health Authority, worn properly to restrain loose hair including beards and mustaches longer than one half inch. The manager will have employee wear hair restraint. corrected on 5/28/24 |
January 29, 2024 — Score 95
Routine · Inspector: Larry Emery
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2B |
food-contact surfaces: cleaned & sanitized 511-6-1.05(7)(b) - food contact surfaces and utensils - cleaning frequency (p, c) | 4 | Observed mildew inside the walls of the ice machine , all food contact surface need to be cleaned and sanitized every 4hr or as needed to prevent the food contact surface from becoming contaminated. COS the inside the walls of the ice machine were cleaned by 1/30/24 |
| 14B |
utensils, equipment and linens: properly stored, dried, handled 511-6-1.05(10)(a) - equipment & utensils, air-drying required (c) | 1 | Observed clean dishes being stacked wet after going through the dish machine in the kitchen area, Equipment and Utensils, Air-Drying Required. After cleaning and sanitizing, equipment and utensils:1. Shall be air-dried or used after adequate draining before contact with food. The manager will have all dishes air dried properly after being wash, rinse, and sanitized in the kitche area |
September 18, 2023 — Score 99
Routine · Inspector: Larry Emery
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17C |
physical facilities installed, maintained, and clean 511-6-1.07(5)(a),(b) - good repair, physical facilities maintained; cleaning, frequency & restrictions, cleaned often enough to keep them clean (c) | 1 | Observed the FRP walls under dishwasher pulling away from the walls because of the excess water in the area, All floors within the facility should be in good repair and smooth, durable, and easily cleanable for areas where food service establishment operations are conducted. The manager will have maintenance repair the walls under the dishwasher by 9/30/23 |
June 8, 2023 — Score 98
Routine · Inspector: Larry Emery
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14B |
utensils, equipment and linens: properly stored, dried, handled 511-6-1.05(10)(e)1,2,4 - equipment, utensil, linens, stored 6" off floor in clean, dry location (c) Repeat | 1 | Observed the plate were being stack while still wet in the kitchen , Clean equipment and utensils shall be stored as specified under paragraph 1 of this subsection and shall be stored:(i) In a self-draining position that allows air drying; . the manager will train the employee on the proper air drying of wet dishes correctly |