Georgia Prison Financial Records: Key Insights

Georgia’s prison budget: $1.48 billion for FY 2025—$153 million more than last year. Private prisons cost 10% more per inmate than state facilities. Where does the money go? $52 million for safety improvements while violence surges. $72 million for healthcare while inmates die from treatable conditions. $43 million for staff retention while 49% of positions remain vacant. Understanding prison finances reveals priorities: Georgia spends more every year on a system that keeps failing. ¹

Budget Breakdown

FY 2025 allocations:

• $1.48 billion total—$153 million increase over FY 2024
• $72 million for healthcare—largest year-over-year increase
• $52 million for safety—while homicides reach record levels
• $43 million for staff retention—while vacancy hits 49%

More money hasn’t produced better outcomes. The system absorbs increases without improving conditions.

Private vs. State Prison Costs

Private prisons cost more and deliver worse results:

• $49.07 per day—private prison cost per inmate
• $44.56 per day—state prison cost per inmate
• 10% higher costs—for private facilities
• 76.6% recidivism—private prison graduates vs. 66.8% state

Payments to private prison companies have doubled in 12 years. Results have only gotten worse. ²

Hidden Costs

The real price of incarceration extends beyond the corrections budget:

• Retiree healthcare—taxpayers fund pensions outside corrections budget
• Infrastructure projects—capital costs not reflected in per-inmate calculations
• 13.9% additional expenses—when hidden costs are included
• Family burden—commissary, phone calls, travel costs shifted to families

The true cost of Georgia’s prison system exceeds $1.7 billion annually.

Take Action

Use Impact Justice AI to send advocacy emails demanding transparent prison spending. The free tool crafts personalized messages to lawmakers—no experience required.

Demand:

• Full disclosure of all prison spending
• Competitive bidding for private contracts
• Outcome-based funding requirements
• Independent financial audits

Further Reading

• How to Request Georgia Prison Financial Records
• A Budgetary Black Hole: The True Cost of Neglecting Georgia’s Prisons
• GPS Informational Resources
• Pathways to Success

About Georgia Prisoners’ Speak (GPS)

Georgia Prisoners’ Speak (GPS) is a nonprofit investigative newsroom built in partnership with incarcerated reporters, families, advocates, and data analysts. Operating independently from the Georgia Department of Corrections, GPS documents the truth the state refuses to acknowledge: extreme violence, fatal medical neglect, gang-controlled dorms, collapsed staffing, fraudulent reporting practices, and unconstitutional conditions across Georgia’s prisons.

Through confidential reporting channels, secure communication, evidence verification, public-records requests, legislative research, and professional investigative standards, GPS provides the transparency the system lacks. Our mission is to expose abuses, protect incarcerated people, support families, and push Georgia toward meaningful reform based on human rights, evidence, and public accountability.

Every article is part of a larger fight — to end the silence, reveal the truth, and demand justice.

Footnotes

1. GPS Statistics, https://gps.press/gdc-statistics/[↩]
2. DOJ Report, https://www.justice.gov/d9/2024-09/findings_report_-_investigation_of_georgia_prisons.pdf[↩]