HANCOCK STATE PRISON
Facility Information
- Original Design Capacity
- 750 (at 158% capacity)
- Bed Capacity
- 1,191 beds
- Current Population
- 1,184
- Active Lifers
- 264 (22.3% of population) · Apr 2026 GDC report
- Life Without Parole
- 212 (17.9%)
Read: Brown v. Plata - A Legal Roadmap for Georgia's Prison Crisis →
- Address
- 701 Prison Boulevard, Sparta, GA 31087
- Mailing Address
- P.O. Box 339, Sparta, GA 31087
- County
- Hancock County
- Opened
- 1991
- Operator
- GDC (Georgia Dept. of Corrections)
- Warden
- George Ivey
- Phone
- (706) 444-1000
- Fax
- (706) 444-1137
- Staff
- Special Assistant: Joe Williams
- Deputy Warden Security: Paul Sanford
- Deputy Warden Security: Tamika Mahoney
- Deputy Warden C&T: Jeremy Foston
- Deputy Warden Admin: Shaquita Adams
About
Hancock State Prison in Sparta is a close-security men’s prison built around 1990 and opened in 1991. It houses many of the state’s highest-risk prisoners under Tier I and Tier II close-custody management, with multiple segregation and isolation units and an annex area alongside dormitory housing. Hancock has a long history of violence, including riots and homicides, and serious infrastructure problems such as inoperable locks and chronic understaffing, making it a focal point in investigations of unconstitutional conditions and gang control inside Georgia prisons.
Mortality Statistics
30 deaths documented at this facility from 2020 to present.
Deaths by Year
- 2026: 8
- 2025: 6
- 2024: 2
- 2023: 3
- 2022: 5
- 2021: 4
- 2020: 2
County Public Health Department
Food service and sanitation at HANCOCK STATE PRISON fall under the jurisdiction of the Hancock 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
- Environmental Health Director
- Address
-
P.O. Box 398
Sparta, GA 31087 - Phone
- (706) 444-6616
- hancock.eh@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 HANCOCK STATE PRISON
Dear County Environmental Health Director,
I am writing to respectfully request that your office conduct a thorough, unannounced inspection of food service and sanitation practices at HANCOCK STATE PRISON, located in Hancock 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 18, 2025 | 100 | Routine | |
| May 27, 2025 | 96 | Routine | |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 100 | Routine | |
| Jun 25, 2024 | 100 | Routine | |
| Oct 13, 2023 | 100 | Routine |
December 18, 2025 — Score 100
Routine · Inspector: William Minton
No violations recorded for this inspection.
May 27, 2025 — Score 96
Routine · Inspector: William Minton
| 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) Corrected | 4 | Observed black slimy substance in ice machine beside handwash station. Equipment Food-Contact Surfaces and Utensils.1. Equipment food-contact surfaces and utensils shall be cleaned:(i) Before each use with a different type of raw animal food such as beef, fish, lamb, pork, or poultry. It does not apply if the food-contact surface or utensil is in contact with a succession of different types of raw meat and raw poultry each requiring a higher cooking temperature as specified under DPH Rule 511-6-1.04(5)(a) than the previous type such as preparing raw pork followed by cutting raw poultry on the same cutting board; P(ii) Each time there is a change from working with raw foods to working with ready-to-eat foods; P(iii) Between uses with raw fruits and vegetables and with Time/Temperature Control for safety food; P(iv) Before using or storing a food temperature measuring device; P and(v) At any time during the operation when contamination may have occurred. P2. Except as specified in paragraph 3 of this subsection, if used with time/temperature control for safety food, equipment food-contact surfaces and utensils shall be cleaned at least every 4 hours throughout the day. P3. Surfaces of utensils and equipment contacting time/temperature control for safety food may be cleaned less frequently than every 4 hours if:(i) In storage, containers of time/temperature control for safety food and their contents are maintained at temperatures specified under DPH Rule 511-6-1-.04 and the containers are cleaned when they are empty;(ii) Utensils and equipment are used to prepare food in a refrigerated room or area that is maintained at one of the temperatures in the following chart and:(I) The utensils and equipment are cleaned at the frequency in the following chart that corresponds to the temperature:Temperature Cleaning Frequency41ºF (5.0ºC) or less 24 hours>41ºF - 45ºF (>5.0ºC - 7.2ºC) 20 hours>45ºF - 50ºF (>7.2ºC - 10.0ºC) 16 hours>50ºF - 55ºF (>10.0ºC - 12.8ºC) 10 hoursand(II) The cleaning frequency based on the ambient temperature of the refrigerated room or area is documented in the food service establishment.(iii) Temperature measuring devices are maintained in contact with food, such as when left in a container of deli food or in a roast, held at temperatures specified under DPH Rule 511-6-1- .04;(iv) Equipment is used for storage of packaged or unpackaged food, such as a reach-in refrigerator, and the equipment is cleaned at a frequency necessary to preclude accumulation of soil residues;(v) The cleaning schedule is approved based on consideration of:(I) Characteristics of the equipment and its use,(II) The type of food involved,(III) The amount of food residue accumulation, and(IV) The temperature at which the food is maintained during the operation and the potential for the rapid and progressive multiplication of pathogenic or toxigenic microorganisms that are capable of causing foodborne disease; or(vi) In-use utensils are intermittently stored in a container of water in which the water is maintained at 135ºF (57ºC) or more and the utensils and container are cleaned at least every 24 hours or at a frequency necessary to preclude accumulation of soil residues.4. Dining counters and table-tops shall be cleaned and sanitized routinely after removing all soiled tableware and food trays shall be cleaned and sanitized after each use by one of the following methods:(i) A two step method in which one cloth, rinsed in sanitizing solution is used to clean food debris from the surface and a second cloth in separate sanitizing solution is used to rinse;(ii) Sanitizing solution is sprayed onto the surface and the surface is then wiped clean with a disposable towel;(iii) If used for cleaning and sanitizing, single-use disposable sanitizer wipes shall be used in accordance with EPA-registered label use instructions; or(iv) Other methods approved by the Health Authority.(v) Food trays may be cleaned and sanitized the same as table ware.5. Except when dry cleaning methods are used as specified under subsection (7)(e) of this Rule, surfaces of utensils and equipment contacting food that is not time/temperature control for safety food shall be cleaned:(i) At any time when contamination may have occurred;(ii) At least every 24 hours for iced tea dispensers including nozzles and consumer self-service utensils such as tongs, scoops, or ladles;(iii) Before restocking consumer self-service equipment and utensils such as condiment dispensers and display containers; and(iv) In equipment such as ice bins and beverage dispensing nozzles and enclosed components of equipment such as ice makers, cooking oil storage tanks and distribution lines, beverage and syrup dispensing lines or tubes, coffee bean grinders, and water vending equipment:(I) At a frequency specified by the manufacturer; or(II) Absent manufacturer specifications, at a frequency necessary to preclude accumulation of soil or mold. Machine was turned off and employee began scrubbing. |
December 31, 2024 — Score 100
Routine · Inspector: William Minton
No violations recorded for this inspection.
June 25, 2024 — Score 100
Routine · Inspector: William Minton
No violations recorded for this inspection.
October 13, 2023 — Score 100
Routine · Inspector: William Minton
No violations recorded for this inspection.