MACON TRANSITIONAL CENTER
Facility Information
- Current Population
- 156
- Active Lifers
- 13 (8.3% of population) · May 2026 GDC report
- Address
- 200 Henry Street, Macon, GA 31206
- County
- Bibb County
- Operator
- GDC (Georgia Dept. of Corrections)
- Warden
- Terry Jones
- Phone
- (478) 751-6090
- Fax
- (478) 751-6665
- Staff
- Assistant Superintendent: Tracy McIntyre
- Chief of Security: Lewis Goodwin
- Business Office: Tervonda Daniels
About
Macon State Prison is a close-security facility that GPS tracking identifies as one of Georgia's deadliest prisons, with at least nine confirmed homicides in 2024 alone according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The facility also functions as the site of Macon Transitional Center, a release-processing unit through which long-term and high-profile incarcerated people — including those serving decades-long sentences — exit the GDC system. Across the broader GDC system, GPS has independently tracked 1,795 deaths since 2020, with cause-of-death classifications reflecting GPS's own investigative capacity rather than any transparency from GDC.
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) | Jones, Terry David | 2025-01-01 | — / — |
| CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT (facility deputy) | McIntyre, Tracy S | 2025-01-01 | — / — |
Key Facts
- 9+ Confirmed homicides at Macon State Prison in 2024, the most of any GDC facility that year (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
- 1,773 Total population at Macon State Prison as of October 2025, with 1,582 classified at close security — the largest close-security population of any single GDC facility
- 1,795 Total deaths across GDC system tracked by GPS since 2020, with cause of death classified independently — GDC does not publicly release this data
- $20M Total Georgia paid in settlements for GDC-related deaths, neglect, and injuries from 2018 onward
- 26 years Time served by Michael 'Little B' Lewis before release through Macon Transitional Center in September 2023, after being prosecuted as an adult at age 13
- April 1, 2026 Date Macon State Prison was locked down as part of a coordinated, system-wide gang violence outbreak affecting at least 13 GDC facilities simultaneously
By the Numbers
- 52,801 Total GDC Population
- 97 Deaths in 2026 (GPS tracked)
- 1,243 Poorly Controlled Health Conditions
- 45 In Mental Health Crisis
- 8,108 In Private Prisons
- 5,163 Drug Admissions (2025)
Mortality Statistics
1 deaths documented at this facility from 2020 to present.
Deaths by Year
- 2026: 0
- 2025: 0
- 2024: 0
- 2023: 0
- 2022: 0
- 2021: 0
- 2020: 1
County Public Health Department
Food service and sanitation at MACON TRANSITIONAL CENTER fall under the jurisdiction of the Bibb 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
-
1600 Forsyth Street
Macon, GA 31210 - Phone
- (478) 749-0106
- bibb.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.
May 16, 2026
RE: Request for Unannounced Public Health Inspection of Food Service Operations at MACON TRANSITIONAL CENTER
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 MACON TRANSITIONAL CENTER, located in Bibb 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
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
MACON TRANSITIONAL CENTER is located in Macon, Bibb County. The facility is currently led by Warden Terry Jones.
Population and Capacity
Current population: 156.
Deaths in Custody
GPS has tracked 1 death at this facility.
GPS Monitoring
GPS tracks this facility through weekly population reports, mortality records, and public records monitoring. Intelligence will be expanded as additional reporting and source material becomes available.
Source Articles (5)
Former leadership
Officials who previously held leadership roles at this facility.
| Role | Name | Tenure | Deaths this facility / career |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superintendent (facility lead) | McMillan, Meosha S | 2013-01-01 → 2013-12-31 | — / 18 |
| CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT (facility deputy) | McIntyre, Tracy S | 2024-01-01 → 2024-12-31 | — / — |
| CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT (facility deputy) | McIntyre, Tracy S | 2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | — / — |
| CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT (facility deputy) | McIntyre, Tracy S | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 | — / — |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | McIntyre, Tracy S | 2018-01-01 → 2018-12-31 | — / — |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | McIntyre, Tracy S | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 | — / — |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | McIntyre, Tracy S | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 | — / — |
| Chief of Security (specialty lead) | Edwards, Komola M | 2013-10-01 → 2013-12-31 | — / — |