COLWELL PROBATION DETENTION CENTER
Facility Information
- Address
- 189 Beasley Street, Blairsville, GA 30512
- County
- Union County
- Operator
- GDC (Georgia Dept. of Corrections)
- Warden
- Darryl Cody
- Phone
- (706) 745-3610
- Fax
- (706) 745-7131
- Staff
- Assistant Superintendent: Jennifer DeFillipes
- Chief of Security: Douglas Fortenberry
About
Colwell Probation Detention Center is a Georgia Department of Corrections facility listed in the GDC facilities directory tracked by Georgia Prisoners' Speak. As of May 2026, GPS has not yet documented facility-specific incidents, deaths, or lawsuits attributable to Colwell PDC through independent reporting, though the facility operates within a statewide system that GPS has tracked recording 1,795 deaths across GDC facilities since 2020. This page will be updated as GPS investigative capacity expands and facility-specific documentation becomes available.
Leadership & Accountability (as of 2025 records)
Officials currently holding positional authority at this facility, with deaths attributed to GPS-tracked records during their leadership tenure. Inclusion reflects role-based accountability, not legal findings of personal culpability. Death counts shown as facility / career.
| Role | Name | Since | Deaths this facility / career |
|---|---|---|---|
| CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT (facility lead) | Cody, Darryl Kent | 2025-01-01 | — / — |
Key Facts
- 1,795 Total deaths tracked by GPS across GDC facilities since 2020 — the system within which Colwell PDC operates
- 301 GPS-documented GDC deaths in 2025, including at least 51 confirmed homicides
- 95 GPS-documented GDC deaths in 2026 through May 1, including 27 confirmed homicides
- ~$20M Georgia paid nearly $20 million since 2018 to settle claims involving GDC prisoner deaths and injuries
- 1,243 GDC inmates systemwide classified as having poorly controlled health conditions as of May 2026
By the Numbers
- 97 Deaths in 2026 (GPS tracked)
- 301 Deaths in 2025 (GPS tracked)
- 13,057 Close Security (24.38%)
- 1,243 Poorly Controlled Health Conditions
- 5,163 Drug Admissions (2025)
- 40.99 Average Inmate Age
Food Safety Inspections
No inspection records are on file with the Georgia Department of Public Health for this facility. GPS has filed an open records request asking where these records are maintained.
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”
Facility Overview
Colwell Probation Detention Center (Colwell PDC) is a Georgia Department of Corrections facility appearing in the GDC Facilities Directory as documented by Georgia Prisoners' Speak. Probation detention centers within the GDC system are designed to house individuals who have violated the terms of their probation, typically for shorter-term detention compared to standard state prisons. The facility falls under GDC administrative oversight and is subject to the same systemic conditions GPS has documented across the broader Georgia corrections network.
As of May 2026, GPS has not yet independently documented facility-specific population figures, physical address details, or operational capacity for Colwell PDC beyond its inclusion in the GDC directory. This page represents an open intelligence file — GPS continues to solicit accounts from incarcerated people, families, and staff with direct knowledge of conditions at this facility. Individuals with information about Colwell PDC are encouraged to contact GPS through secure channels.
Statewide System Context
Colwell PDC operates within a Georgia Department of Corrections system that GPS has independently tracked as experiencing a sustained and serious mortality crisis. GPS's independent database — built through investigative reporting, family accounts, public records, and news documentation, not GDC self-reporting — records 1,795 deaths across GDC facilities between 2020 and May 2026. The GDC does not publicly release cause-of-death information; all cause classifications in GPS's database reflect independent GPS investigative work.
In 2025 alone, GPS documented 301 deaths systemwide, including at least 51 confirmed homicides — with GPS noting that the true homicide count is likely significantly higher than confirmed figures, given that 230 of 2025's deaths remained classified as unknown or pending as of the time of documentation. The 2026 reporting year has already recorded 95 deaths through May 1, including 27 confirmed homicides, 6 suicides, and 2 overdose deaths, with 56 deaths still pending cause-of-death classification. These figures establish the lethal baseline against which conditions at any GDC facility — including Colwell PDC — must be assessed.
The broader GDC population stood at 52,912 as of May 1, 2026, with an additional 2,481 individuals held in county jails awaiting transfer into state custody. The system-wide population has increased by 201 over the 12 weeks from mid-February through May 2026, reflecting continued pressure on facility capacity. Across GDC facilities, GPS demographic data shows 60.38% of the incarcerated population is Black and 1,243 individuals are classified as having poorly controlled health conditions — a figure that underscores the stakes of medical access failures at any individual facility.
Accountability and Legal Context
No lawsuits, settlements, or legal actions specifically naming Colwell Probation Detention Center have been documented by GPS at this time. However, the facility exists within a GDC accountability landscape that GPS has tracked as involving nearly $20 million paid by the state of Georgia since 2018 to settle claims involving death or injury to state prisoners. This figure, reported through news coverage of GDC-related litigation, reflects a pattern of legal exposure across the system tied to conditions, neglect, and violence — the same categories of harm GPS documents through independent reporting.
GPS will update this section as any litigation, complaints, or legal actions involving Colwell PDC are identified through court records, attorney filings, or family reporting. Families of individuals incarcerated at Colwell PDC who have experienced harm or loss are encouraged to contact GPS, as facility-specific legal documentation often originates from family-sourced information before appearing in public court records.
Intelligence Gaps and Ongoing Investigation
GPS's current file on Colwell Probation Detention Center reflects the early stage of facility-specific documentation rather than an absence of concerning conditions. GPS's investigative capacity has expanded significantly over recent years — a development reflected in the improved cause-of-death classification rates visible in GPS's mortality database, where 2025 and 2026 data show substantially higher confirmed homicide and cause-specific counts than earlier years. This improvement is a function of GPS's growing reporting infrastructure, not any increase in GDC transparency.
Key intelligence gaps for Colwell PDC currently include: facility population and capacity figures; staffing levels and vacancy rates; documented incidents of violence, use of force, or sexual abuse; medical and mental health service access; disciplinary and solitary confinement practices; and any complaints or grievances filed by individuals held there. GPS treats probation detention centers as a distinct and often under-documented category within the GDC system — shorter sentences and higher turnover can reduce the visibility of conditions that nonetheless carry serious risk of harm. This page will be actively updated as information is received and verified.