COFFEE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
Facility Information
- Original Design Capacity
- 1,524 (at 180% capacity)
- Bed Capacity
- 2,628 beds
- Current Population
- 2,737
- Active Lifers
- 364 (13.3% of population) · Apr 2026 GDC report
Read: Brown v. Plata - A Legal Roadmap for Georgia's Prison Crisis →
- Address
- 1153 North Liberty Street, Nicholls, GA 31554
- Mailing Address
- P.O. Box 650, Nicholls, GA 31554
- County
- Coffee County
- Opened
- 1998
- Operator
- Unknown
- Warden
- Sidney Carter
- Phone
- (912) 345-5058
- Fax
- (912) 345-5086
- Staff
- Asst. Warden Security: Kamala Grant
- Asst. Warden Programs: Ricky Stone
- Chief of Security: Joaquin Lemon
- Chief of Unit Management: Phil Hall
- Business Manager: Teresa Todd
- State Monitor: Lonnie Pritchett
About
Private prison operated by CoreCivic
Mortality Statistics
24 deaths documented at this facility from 2020 to present.
Deaths by Year
- 2026: 0
- 2025: 2
- 2024: 3
- 2023: 2
- 2022: 7
- 2021: 5
- 2020: 5
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 27, 2026 | 100 | Routine | |
| Sep 29, 2025 | 96 | Routine | |
| May 2, 2025 | 99 | Routine | |
| Nov 8, 2024 | 90 | Routine | |
| May 6, 2024 | 100 | Routine | |
| Dec 13, 2023 | 100 | Routine | |
| May 19, 2023 | 100 | Routine |
March 27, 2026 — Score 100
Routine · Inspector: Chad Gilliard
No violations recorded for this inspection.
September 29, 2025 — Score 96
Routine · Inspector: Brandon Lee
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2B |
food-contact surfaces: cleaned & sanitized 511-6-1.05(7)(a)1 - equipment, food-contact surfaces,& utensils (pf) Corrected | 4 | A few trays were found with some build up or food debris present after wash rinse, & sanitize. CA: Visually inspect trays for proper wash. |
May 2, 2025 — Score 99
Routine · Inspector: Brandon Lee
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15C |
nonfood-contact surfaces clean 511-6-1.05(7)(a)2,3 - equipment, food/nonfood-contact surfaces, and utensils, food-contact surfaces of cooking equipment & nonfood-contact surfaces free of accumulations (c) | 1 | Build up on bottom edges of prep tables. CA: Clean and sanitize these areas. |
November 8, 2024 — Score 90
Routine · Inspector: Brandon Lee
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A |
proper cold holding temperatures 511-6-1.04(6)(f) - time/temperature control for safety; cold holding (p) Corrected | 9 | Reach in cooler does not latch, gap over 1 inch. CA: Fix cooler. Sandwiches were just placed in cooler when temperature was checked, so no food had to be discarded. Violation is for attempting to use broken cold holding equipment. |
| 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 | In dry good storage room a tray was observed holding up a table. CA: Fix table. Discard tray. |
May 6, 2024 — Score 100
Routine · Inspector: Chad Gilliard
No violations recorded for this inspection.
December 13, 2023 — Score 100
Routine · Inspector: Daniel Taft
No violations recorded for this inspection.
May 19, 2023 — Score 100
Routine · Inspector: Brandon Lee
No violations recorded for this inspection.