MONTGOMERY STATE PRISON
Facility Information
- Original Design Capacity
- 400
- Bed Capacity
- 900 beds
- Current Population
- 399
- Active Lifers
- 7 (1.8% of population) · Apr 2026 GDC report
- Address
- 650 Mount Vernon Alston Road, Mt. Vernon, GA 30445
- Mailing Address
- PO Box 256, Mt. Vernon, GA 30445
- County
- Montgomery County
- Opened
- 1972
- Operator
- GDC (Georgia Dept. of Corrections)
- Warden
- Tracy Page
- Phone
- (912) 583-3600
- Fax
- (912) 583-3667
- Staff
- Deputy Warden Security/C&T: VACANT
- Deputy Warden Admin: Stefanie Calhoun
About
Montgomery State Prison in Mount Vernon is a medium-security prison for adult male felons, constructed and opened in 1972 and later renovated in the mid-1990s. With a design capacity of about 900 beds, it houses general-population prisoners who also staff various Correctional Industries and outside work details. The facility’s mission emphasizes structured programs and reentry preparation, but it faces the same chronic resource and staffing issues present throughout the system.
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 MONTGOMERY STATE PRISON fall under the jurisdiction of the Montgomery 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
- Curtis (Dale) Krosting
- Address
-
P.O. Box 212
Mt. Vernon, GA 30445 - Phone
- (912) 583-4602
- Curtis.Krosting@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 MONTGOMERY STATE PRISON
Dear Curtis (Dale) Krosting,
I am writing to respectfully request that your office conduct a thorough, unannounced inspection of food service and sanitation practices at MONTGOMERY STATE PRISON, located in Montgomery 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 10, 2026 | 100 | Routine | |
| Feb 18, 2025 | 100 | Routine | |
| Jun 20, 2024 | 98 | Routine | |
| Dec 28, 2023 | 98 | Routine | |
| Jun 9, 2023 | 100 | Routine |
March 10, 2026 — Score 100
Routine · Inspector: Dale Krosting
No violations recorded for this inspection.
February 18, 2025 — Score 100
Routine · Inspector: Dale Krosting
No violations recorded for this inspection.
June 20, 2024 — Score 98
Routine · Inspector: Dale Krosting
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17C |
physical facilities installed, maintained, and clean 511-6-1.07(5)(f) - drying mops (c) Corrected Repeat | 1 | Observed wet mops sitting on floor rather than being hung to allow for proper air drying. CA: Items were corrected on site |
December 28, 2023 — Score 98
Routine · Inspector: Dale Krosting
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14A |
in-use utensils: properly stored 511-6-1.04(4)(k) - in-use utensils, between-use storage (c) Corrected | 1 | In-use utensil in nonpotential hazardous food (sugar) not stored with handle above top of food within a closed container. CA: Items were corrected on site. |
| 17C |
physical facilities installed, maintained, and clean 511-6-1.07(5)(f) - drying mops (c) Corrected | 1 | Observed wet mops sitting on floor rather than being hung to allow for proper air drying. CA: Items were corrected on site |
| 17D |
adequate ventilation and lighting; designated areas used 511-6-1.07(5)(d) - cleaning ventilation system, nuisance & discharge prohibition, cleaned in way not to cause contamination or create a public health hazard (c) | 1 | Observed dust/debris build up on the vents in the kitchen area that needs to be cleaned. CA: Work order was placed to have these items corrected by date listed. |
June 9, 2023 — Score 100
Routine · Inspector: Dale Krosting
No violations recorded for this inspection.