SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT
Facility Information
- Bed Capacity
- 192 beds
- Current Population
- 149
- Active Lifers
- 46 (30.9% of population) · Apr 2026 GDC report
- Life Without Parole
- 32 (21.5%)
- Address
- 2978 Hwy 36 West, Jackson, GA 30233
- Mailing Address
- P.O. Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233
- County
- Butts County
- Operator
- GDC (Georgia Dept. of Corrections)
- Warden
- Eric Cox
- Phone
- (770) 504-7610
- Fax
- (770) 504-7623
- Staff
- Special Assistant: Sheneca King
- Deputy Warden Security: Flemister Wiley
- Deputy Warden CT: Toricka Nash
About
The Special Management Unit (SMU) is a 192-bed ultra-restrictive housing unit located on the grounds of Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison in Jackson. It is designed for prisoners considered the highest security risks in the state, including those with chronic disciplinary histories, assaultive behavior, or escape risks. Conditions are characterized by near-total isolation, single- or double-celling with very limited out-of-cell time, and intensive security procedures, making it one of the most severe forms of confinement in Georgia’s system.
Mortality Statistics
7 deaths documented at this facility from 2020 to present.
Deaths by Year
- 2026: 0
- 2025: 2
- 2024: 2
- 2023: 1
- 2022: 1
- 2021: 1
- 2020: 0
County Public Health Department
Food service and sanitation at SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT 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 29, 2026
RE: Request for Unannounced Public Health Inspection of Food Service Operations at SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT
Dear Robert Waggoner,
I am writing to respectfully request that your office conduct a thorough, unannounced inspection of food service and sanitation practices at SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT, 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
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”