GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON
Facility Information
- Original Design Capacity
- 800 (at 603% capacity)
- Bed Capacity
- 2,487 beds
- Current Population
- 4,822
- Active Lifers
- 140 (2.9% of population) · Apr 2026 GDC report
- Life Without Parole
- 92 (1.9%)
Read: Brown v. Plata - A Legal Roadmap for Georgia's Prison Crisis →
- Address
- 2978 Hwy 36 West, Jackson, GA 30233
- Mailing Address
- P.O. Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233
- County
- Butts County
- Opened
- 1968
- Operator
- GDC (Georgia Dept. of Corrections)
- Warden
- Jacob Beasley
- Phone
- (770) 504-2000
- Fax
- (770) 504-2006
- Staff
- Deputy Warden Security: Nicholas Brown
- Deputy Warden Security: Reginald Clark
- Deputy Warden C&T: Terrion Thurman
- Deputy Warden Diagnostic: Crystal Hughes-Whiters
- Deputy Warden Admin: Tandra Rogers
Special Designations
- Death Row
- Medical Hub
- Mental Health Services
- Protective Custody Unit
- Administrative Segregation
About
Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison (GDCP) in Jackson is the state’s largest prison and central intake facility for men. Built in 1968 and renovated in 1998, it processes all male offenders entering the system, houses Georgia’s male death-row unit, operates a 192-bed Special Management Unit for the most restrictive custody, and conducts state-ordered executions. Housing includes eight cellblocks with single- and double-bunked cells, seven general-population dormitories, a 17-bed Segregated Transition Education Program (STEP) unit, and a medical unit. GDCP also maintains a CERT Team, Tactical Squad, and on-site fire station, making it both a diagnostic center and one of the system’s highest-security prisons.
Mortality Statistics
120 deaths documented at this facility from 2020 to present.
Deaths by Year
- 2026: 6
- 2025: 12
- 2024: 22
- 2023: 24
- 2022: 20
- 2021: 15
- 2020: 21
County Public Health Department
Food service and sanitation at GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON fall under the jurisdiction of the Butts 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
- Robert Waggoner
- Address
-
463 Ernest Biles Dr., Suite A
Jackson, GA 30233 - Phone
- (770) 504-2230
- Robert.Waggoner@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 GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON
Dear Robert Waggoner,
I am writing to respectfully request that your office conduct a thorough, unannounced inspection of food service and sanitation practices at GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON, located in Butts 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 26, 2025 | 100 | Routine |
March 26, 2025 — Score 100
Routine · Inspector: Robert Waggoner
No violations recorded for this inspection.