Georgia’s “Hardened” Solution: Another Fortress Instead of Reform

Georgia is pouring concrete on a constitutional crisis.

State leaders are selling a $24 million “hardened” 126-bed unit at Hays State Prison (Trion, GA) as proof of “progress” in a system the U.S. Department of Justice has already declared unconstitutional—a system where gangs “effectively run facilities,” locks fail, homicides soar, and human beings are warehoused without safety, treatment, or hope. The new unit is one of four identical modules Georgia plans to install statewide as part of a $600-million prison spending surge—presented as modernization, but functionally a reaction to federal pressure that mistakes more walls for real reform ^{1 2}.

According to the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC), the Hays module is “pre-manufactured” and “hardened,” with a 30-year lifespan, designed to act as “swing space” so people can be shuffled while old buildings are repaired. The pitch is tidy: temporary housing that enables upgrades, “built without burdening current staff levels.” But the narrative is incomplete—and dangerously misleading ³.

What’s being built at Hays is not reform. It’s a new fortress attached to a status quo that remains broken by design.

The “Swing Space” Myth

State officials call the Hays module “swing space”—a construction term for temporary capacity that lets you move people around while you fix the core structure. But the euphemism obscures the truth: this is permanent, high-security housing with a 30-year design life. It exists not because Georgia solved its crisis, but because the crisis has become chronic.

The DOJ’s 94-page findings (Oct. 2024) documented a system where violence is endemic, the homicide rate is nearly eight times the national average, staffing is catastrophically low (vacancies exceeding 50%, >70% at some prisons), and gangs control daily life. The report’s language was blunt: Georgia “fails to protect” incarcerated people from harm and is “deliberately indifferent” to the risk of serious injury and death ¹.

New cells do not fix indifference.

They move people. They do not protect them.

Hays: A Case Study in Failure

Hays State Prison did not arrive at “hardened” by accident. A 2012 audit found ~42% of locks non-functional or easily defeated, enabling movement across units and “ghost” housing assignments. In late 2012 and early 2013, three men were murdered within one month. A CO was stabbed 22 times and survived. Nineteen-year-old Pippa Hall-Jackson was stabbed to death in February 2013 in a gang-related case of mistaken identity. That was the public breaking point—but it wasn’t the end ^{4 5}.

The problems metastasized into the present. In 2023, Hays inmates Ryan Brandt and Kyle Oree were federally indicted as leaders of Sex Money Murder for ordering violence and drug distribution from inside prison via contraband phones—exactly the kind of gang command-and-control the DOJ says GDC has failed to stop ⁶.

Hays currently houses roughly 1,650 people, including ~750 Level II mental-health patients. In other words, a high-risk population disproportionately exposed to the very conditions—broken security, gang coercion, medical neglect—the DOJ condemned ⁷.

The state’s response?

Build a new hardened unit outside the main fence—physically separated, with its own perimeter—while the core problems inside remain.

Building Fortresses Instead of Trust

Gov. Kemp’s January 2025 package advertises $372 million for corrections “improvements,” a down payment on what has now become a $1.6 billion multi-year build-out: four 126-bed hardened modules; a new 3,000-bed prison behind Washington State Prison; tens of millions for locks, electronics, drone detection, and cell-phone blocking technology; and a promise to hire 882 officers as staffing hemorrhage continues ^{2 8 9}.

It is infrastructure without transformation.

Locks get replaced. Walls get thicker. Beds get “hardened.” But culture and care—the human infrastructure that makes safety possible—are not being rebuilt with the same urgency.

Even the consultants hired by the Governor—Guidehouse, The Moss Group, and Carter, Goble, Lee—described Georgia prisons as operating in “emergency mode,” with gangs effectively running facilities and staffing so thin that routine counts can’t be done safely. Their message wasn’t “build more boxes.” It was: the system is unmanageable as-is ¹⁰.

As one corrections expert told reporters, Georgia’s approach is the classic “security-first mirage”: spend big on bricks and tech, avoid the political cost of confronting what actually drives violence—chronic understaffing, nonexistent supervision, contraband fueled by corruption, mental-health abandonment, and the total collapse of trust ¹¹.

“People are assaulted, stabbed, raped and killed or left to languish inside facilities that are woefully understaffed.”
_{— U.S. DOJ Civil Rights Division, 2024 Findings Report ¹}

Georgia’s leaders keep saying they can’t afford reform — yet somehow, they always find money for more walls. Meanwhile, the people inside those walls are going hungry.

Starving Reform While Feeding Construction

While Georgia spends hundreds of millions on new prisons, the food budget for prisoners keeps shrinking. The result is predictable — and deadly. Men and women across Georgia’s prisons are starving, both nutritionally and literally. Our own investigation, Starved and Silenced: The Hidden Crisis Inside Georgia Prisons, documented widespread reports of prisoners losing 30 to 50 pounds, being fed one or two slices of bologna and cold grits, and developing chronic illnesses linked to malnutrition.

According to Filter Magazine, prisoners at Rogers, Wheeler, and Smith State Prisons describe “meals so small and nutritionally empty that people are left fighting for scraps — or fighting each other” ¹².  Prisoners have died from starvation and dehydration, and many more are suffering long-term health damage.

This isn’t just neglect — it’s a policy failure with measurable consequences. Research shows that malnutrition directly increases aggression and impulsivity, driving the same violence Georgia claims to be trying to control with new “hardened” facilities.  As detailed in Starved and Silenced, nutritional deficiencies in prisons fuel depression, anxiety, and violent behavior, creating a feedback loop of chaos that even the DOJ has linked to Georgia’s “failure to protect” those in its custody.

Yet instead of investing in better food and health care, the state continues to divert resources toward concrete, steel, and surveillance technology.

If just a fraction of Georgia’s $600 million prison budget increase were directed toward improving nutrition, the returns would be immediate and measurable:

• Reduced violence — Studies show proper nutrition can lower violent incidents by up to 40%.
• Lower medical costs — Treating chronic illness from malnutrition costs six times more than prevention through adequate diet.
• Healthier reentry — 95% of prisoners eventually return home; their untreated health conditions become taxpayer burdens.

Georgia can’t build its way out of violence while starving the very people it claims to rehabilitate. Every dollar spent hardening walls while slashing food budgets proves the same point: this isn’t reform — it’s managed neglect.

Just as Georgia could reduce violence by feeding people, it could also ease overcrowding — and restore hope — through a parole system that actually works.

Parole: The Forgotten Key to Real Reform

While Georgia builds more prisons, it’s ignoring the simplest, most effective tool to reduce violence and overcrowding — parole.  A functioning parole system not only opens the door for release but also restores hope, the single most powerful deterrent to prison violence.  As we wrote in Parole: A Promise Broken — and How Georgia Can Make It Right, the Parole Board’s inaction has turned rehabilitation into an empty word.

Between 2020 and 2024, the number of paroles granted in Georgia fell by nearly half, even as deaths and violence soared.  Lifers and long-term prisoners — the very people who have already proven rehabilitation through decades of good conduct — are almost entirely excluded.  In Fixing Georgia’s Parole System: The Ultimate Plan for Justice, GPS outlined concrete steps to restore fairness and transparency, including mandatory review timelines, written explanations for denials, and legislative oversight.

True reform doesn’t come from more walls; it comes from second chances.  As we argued in The Second Chance Act and Decarceration as a Solution to Georgia’s Prison Crisis, expanding parole eligibility for elderly, medically fragile, and rehabilitated inmates would immediately reduce overcrowding, lower costs, and restore humanity to a system built on despair.

If Georgia invested even a fraction of its construction budget into rebuilding the parole system, it could relieve pressure on prisons, reduce staff violence, and create a genuine incentive for good behavior.  Parole gives people a reason to hope — and hope is the foundation of safety.

Until Georgia reclaims that truth, every new “hardened” unit will remain what it already is: another monument to a justice system that keeps building walls while locking away redemption.

Why the New Hays Unit Misses the Point

1) It treats symptoms, not causes.

The proximate problem at Hays is gang control, contraband, and failing infrastructure. The root problem is no one to supervise or intervene. Georgia’s vacancy rates have hovered around or above 50% systemwide; at many prisons, an entire compound can be staffed by one or two officers at night. You cannot “harden” your way out of an absence of people ¹.

2) It’s a bet on isolation over treatment.

Hays houses a large mental-health population. Higher custody + fewer clinicians is a formula for more crisis, not less. The DOJ flagged widespread misuse of segregation as de facto protective custody, especially for vulnerable and LGBTI people, with devastating mental-health consequences. Mental illness doesn’t stabilize inside a hardened box ¹.

3) It enables opacity, not transparency.

Georgia has repeatedly withheld or blurred death data, stopped reporting preliminary causes in mortality logs, and blacked out incident reports. New spaces without new oversight deliver the same impunity in a cleaner building ¹³.

4) It’s permanent by design.

Calling this “swing space” while commissioning 30-year modules is a policy choice to expand high-security capacity that will shape outcomes for a generation—without a credible plan to rebuild staffing, care, or accountability.

What Real Reform Looks Like (And What Georgia Isn’t Doing)

Staffing and safety first.

Fund people before perimeters: Restore minimum staffing, end single-officer coverage of multiple buildings, and implement true incentive ladders, trauma support, and retention programs that actually keep trained officers and clinicians in place. The public is less safe when the inside is leaderless.

Independent oversight with teeth.

Reinstate transparent death reporting; impose surprise inspections; preserve and publish video and incident logs; empower an independent inspector with subpoena power; and guarantee protected reporting channels for staff and incarcerated people.

Target the contraband economy, not the phones.

The DOJ and AJC have documented staff corruption as a major contraband vector. Buying “jammers” while ignoring internal pipelines is performative. Prioritize staff vetting, random integrity tests, financial/AUDIT controls, and external prosecutions. Follow the money—not just the signal.

Mental health care that meets need.

Replace punitive segregation for vulnerable people with clinically led units, safe staffing ratios, and evidence-based programming. The DOJ singled out sexual violence, PREA failures, and misuse of isolation; those are solvable clinical and operational gaps—no amount of “hardening” addresses them.

Smaller, accountable, single-cell facilities—done right.

The state says it’s moving to smaller pods and single cells because violence dropped at Smith after conversion. That model only works with adequate staffing, visible leadership presence, and real programming. A “small, hard place” without people and programs is just a smaller place to fail ¹.

Why This Matters for Hays—and the Rest of Georgia

Hays is where Georgia is testing its new posture: spend fast, build hard, move on.

The module sits outside the main fence—a literal embodiment of the policy: separate, fortify, contain. If the state can cut a ribbon on schedule (Fall 2025 installation; “operational within 12 months”), it will declare success and replicate the model, even as the DOJ’s central indictment remains: deliberate indifference to basic safety and care ^{3 1}.

“Emergency mode,” the consultants called it.

But “emergency” is not an excuse to skip reform. It’s the reason to do it ¹⁰.

What Elected Officials Should Be Asking

• Where is the staffing plan? Show month-over-month vacancy reductions and post-coverage compliance before opening new units.
• Where is the transparency plan? Reinstate preliminary cause-of-death reporting; publish critical incident debriefs; preserve camera footage for 90+ days.
• Where is the PREA compliance plan? Demonstrate independent case reviews, timely SANE exams, and an end to “protective custody” via solitary.
• Where is the anti-corruption plan? Publicly report staff arrests, discipline, and contraband investigations; expand third-party audits.
• Where is the mental-health care plan? Staffing, caseloads, clinical leadership, and safe alternatives to isolation must be visible and verified.

Without these answers, a “hardened” unit is not progress—it’s PR.

Conclusion: Concrete Can’t Cure Corruption

Georgia can build four new hardened units, a 3,000-bed mega-prison, and replace every lock in the state. It still won’t cure a system that the DOJ says violates the Constitution, where “people are assaulted, stabbed, raped and killed or left to languish” in facilities “woefully understaffed.”

The state continues to pour hundreds of millions into new walls while starving the people inside them—literally and nutritionally. As Starved and Silenced: The Hidden Crisis Inside Georgia Prisons and Filter Magazine’s investigation reveal, prisoners across Georgia are losing dangerous amounts of weight, fighting illness and each other over scraps of food.  The connection between starvation and violence is no coincidence: malnutrition fuels aggression, despair, and medical collapse.

If Georgia redirected even a fraction of its prison construction budget to nutrition and healthcare, the violence would fall, medical costs would shrink, and human dignity could begin to return to its prisons. Instead, the state is hardening its walls while hollowing out its humanity.

Until Georgia chooses to feed people instead of fortifying prisons, there will be no reform—only a newer, shinier version of the same neglect.

Real reform won’t come from silence — it will come from collective pressure.

Call to Action: Demand Real Reform, Not More Prisons

Georgia’s leaders are spending over a billion dollars to build new walls while people inside are starving, dying, and losing hope. We cannot stay silent while officials disguise neglect as “security.” Real reform starts with truth, transparency, and humanity.

Here’s what you can do right now:

1. Tell Georgia Lawmakers to Fund Reform, Not Fortresses.

Find your state legislators at openstates.org/find_your_legislator.

Call, email, or write. Demand that prison funding go first to:

• Adequate food and healthcare, not more concrete.
• Hiring and training staff, not more isolation units.
• Independent oversight with public accountability.

Use ImpactJustice.AI to instantly generate letters to Georgia legislators, the DOJ, and state media demanding full investigation into the conditions at Hays and across the GDC.

2. File Official Complaints.

If you or a loved one has firsthand knowledge of prison starvation, unsafe conditions, or retaliation, report it directly:

• U.S. Department of Justice – Civil Rights Division (CRIPA): https://civilrights.justice.gov/report
• Georgia Department of Public Health – Environmental Health: Report black mold, contaminated food, or unsafe kitchens at https://dph.georgia.gov/environmental-health

Document everything — dates, photos, weights, and medical issues. Each report strengthens the case for federal oversight.

3. Support Families and Speak Out.

Every family that shares their story helps expose the truth. Post, write, and tag your officials using:

#GeorgiaPrisons #StarvedAndSilenced #EndPrisonNeglect #ReformNotFortresses

If you have a loved one inside, continue to advocate for them. Your voice is often the only one the public hears.

4. Demand Independent Oversight and Transparency.

Insist that Georgia reinstate cause-of-death reporting, release nutrition budgets, and allow independent monitors into every facility. No more secrecy. No more silence.

5. Join the Movement.

Follow Georgia Prisoners’ Speak (GPS) at gps.press and share our investigations to amplify the truth.

Every story we tell makes it harder for the state to hide the suffering inside its prisons.

Concrete doesn’t create safety — people do.

Until Georgia chooses reform over repression, its new walls will stand as monuments to failure, not justice.

Sources & Further Reading

• DOJ Findings Report on Georgia Prisons (Oct. 2024): constitutional violations; understaffing; gang control; sexual violence; data suppression https://www.justice.gov/d9/2024-09/findings_report_-_investigation_of_georgia_prisons.pdf
• Gov. Kemp’s Corrections Spending Announcement (Jan. 7, 2025): four 126-bed modules; locks; tech; staffing promises https://gov.georgia.gov/press-releases/2025-01-07/gov-kemp-unveils-recommendations-system-wide-corrections-system
• AJC Investigations Hub: corruption, deception, record deaths, gang operations https://www.ajc.com/news/investigations/georgia-prisons-the-ajcs-investigation-into-corruption-dysfunction-and-violence/P3GTS77W4RGHLN5GLJSS6WCV2Y/
• AJC – Consultants: ‘Emergency mode’; homicide surge; staffing collapse https://www.ajc.com/news/investigations/georgia-prisons-in-crisis-say-consultants-hired-by-governor/5P6BELWL4ZE7LK2BKWP3QT6Y2E/
• AM 1180 Radio (Chattooga County): Hays 126-bed unit specifics & timeline https://chattooga1180.com/new-126-bed-correctional-unit-under-construction-at-hays-state-prison/
• 13WMAZ: new 3,000-bed prison behind Washington State Prison https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/local/new-prison-washington-county/93-dea1291e-49f8-4623-b831-4a86fac118ec
• Chattanooga Times Free Press: Hays violence & security failures (2013) https://timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2013/jan/27/danger-stalks-hays-state-prison/98145)) ((https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/may/03/hays-security-upgrades-get-good-reviews/
• Coosa Valley News: Hays-linked Sex Money Murder indictment (2023) https://coosavalleynews.com/2023/11/hays-prison-inmates-among-twenty-three-gang-members-indicted-on-racketeering-drug-trafficking-and-firearm-charges/
• From the Inside Out: How Prison Gangs in Georgia Operate Multimillion-Dollar Criminal Networks: https://gps.press/from-the-inside-out-how-prison-gangs-in-georgia-operate-multimillion-dollar-criminal-networks/

Sources Used in this Report

Government Sources

Georgia Governor’s Office

• Gov. Kemp Unveils Recommendations from System-wide Corrections System Assessment (January 7, 2025)
• Description: Official press release announcing $372 million emergency corrections funding including the four 126-bed modular units
• URL: https://gov.georgia.gov/press-releases/2025-01-07/gov-kemp-unveils-recommendations-system-wide-corrections-system

U.S. Department of Justice

• Investigation of Georgia Prisons – Findings Report (September 2024)
• Description: 94-page DOJ Civil Rights Division investigation documenting constitutional violations, gang control, and violence in Georgia prisons
• URL: https://www.justice.gov/d9/2024-09/findings_report_-_investigation_of_georgia_prisons.pdf

U.S. Department of Justice – Northern District of Georgia

• Justice Department Finds Conditions in Georgia Prisons Violate the Constitution
• Description: Official DOJ press release announcing investigation findings
• URL: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/justice-department-finds-conditions-georgia-prisons-violate-constitution

U.S. Department of Justice – Northern District of Georgia

• Justice Department Announces Investigation into Conditions in Georgia Prisons
• Description: Announcement of the initial CRIPA investigation launched in 2016
• URL: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/justice-department-announces-investigation-conditions-georgia-prisons

Georgia Department of Corrections

• Hays State Prison facility page
• Description: Official GDC facility information and statistics
• URL: https://gdc.georgia.gov/locations/hays-state-prison

Georgia Department of Corrections

• Legacy facility information system
• Description: Older GDC facility database with detailed specifications
• URL: http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/GDC/FacilityMap/html/S_50000197.html

Georgia Department of Corrections

• New Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Strategic Planning and Legislative Affairs (June 16, 2025)
• Description: Announcement of Louis DeBroux III’s appointment as Assistant Commissioner
• URL: https://gdc.georgia.gov/press-releases/2025-06-16/new-assistant-commissioner-office-strategic-planning-and-legislative

Georgia Department of Corrections

• Security Threat Groups (GANGS) Unit information
• Description: Official GDC page describing gang monitoring and management programs
• URL: https://gdc.georgia.gov/organization/about-gdc/divisions-and-org-chart/executive-operations/office-professional-3

Georgia Attorney General’s Office

• Gang Activity key issues page
• Description: State Attorney General’s overview of gang prosecution initiatives
• URL: https://law.georgia.gov/key-issues/gang-activity

Georgia Department of Corrections – Macon State Prison

• Legacy facility information
• Description: Details on Macon State Prison’s M building and security levels
• URL: http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/GDC/FacilityMap/html/S_50000206.html

Georgia Department of Corrections – Ware State Prison

• Ware State Prison facility page
• Description: Information on Ware State Prison including I building
• URL: https://gdc.georgia.gov/locations/ware-state-prison

Legislative and Policy Sources

Georgia Senate Press Office

• Department of Corrections Facilities Senate Study Committee Adopts Final Committee Report (December 2024)
• Description: Final report from Sen. Randy Robertson’s study committee on prison infrastructure needs
• URL: https://senatepress.net/department-of-corrections-facilities-senate-study-committee-adopts-final-committee-report.html

The Georgia Virtue

• Senate Study Committee Releases Final Report on Georgia Prisons
• Description: Coverage of the Senate study committee’s recommendations
• URL: https://www.thegeorgiavirtue.com/georgia-legislature/senate-study-committee-releases-final-report-on-georgia-prisons/

Georgia Budget and Policy Institute

• Overview: 2026 Fiscal Year Budget for the Georgia Department of Corrections
• Description: Independent analysis of GDC budget increases and spending priorities
• URL: https://gbpi.org/overview-2026-fiscal-year-budget-for-the-georgia-department-of-corrections/

Vote Smart

• Chuck Hufstetler’s Biography
• Description: Background on State Senator Chuck Hufstetler representing Chattooga County
• URL: https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/140281/chuck-hufstetler

News Media – Major Outlets

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

• Ga. lawmakers and governor propose $600 million to fix state prisons
• Description: Major newspaper coverage of the corrections funding package
• URL: https://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-news/ga-lawmakers-and-governor-propose-600-million-to-fix-state-prisons/2HUR7YIYLNBA5JCCIH6BYBTV7M/

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

• Gang violence in prison is increasingly deadly
• Description: Investigative reporting on gang violence escalation in Georgia prisons
• URL: https://www.ajc.com/news/gang-violence-prison-increasingly-deadly/nys5BwZ004OmRFitYvBn9M/

Georgia Recorder

• Kemp unveils plan to spend millions intended to restore order in Georgia prisons (January 8, 2025)
• Description: Detailed coverage of Governor Kemp’s corrections reform announcement
• URL: https://georgiarecorder.com/2025/01/08/kemp-unveils-plan-to-to-spend-millions-intended-to-restore-order-in-georgia-prisons/

FOX 5 Atlanta

• Gov. Kemp proposes to spend hundreds of millions on Georgia prison renovation plan
• Description: Television news coverage of the budget announcement
• URL: https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/gov-kemp-proposes-spend-hundreds-millions-georgia-prison-renovation-plan

The Center Square

• House budget adds $250M for corrections
• Description: Coverage of legislative budget additions to corrections funding
• URL: https://www.thecentersquare.com/georgia/article_aaa06c9c-fdbc-11ef-b332-63af2a24becf.html

News-Daily

• House budget adds $250M for corrections
• Description: Regional coverage of corrections budget increases
• URL: https://www.news-daily.com/plus/house-budget-adds-250m-for-corrections/article_49b07171-18b5-5fe6-a0f9-ee098288073b.html

The Current (Georgia)

• Fiscal ’26 state budget clears General Assembly
• Description: Coverage of final budget passage including corrections funding
• URL: https://thecurrentga.org/2025/04/04/fiscal-26-state-budget-clears-general-assembly/

Longview News-Journal

• DOJ: Ga. Prisons Are Systematically Violating Civil Rights of Inmates
• Description: National news coverage of the DOJ findings
• URL: https://www.news-journal.com/doj-ga-prisons-systematically-violating-civil-rights-of-inmates/article_955008a1-cd06-59e0-b9d6-7779ec9ee1b2.html

News Media – Local/Regional

AM 1180 Radio (Chattooga County)

• New 126-Bed Correctional Unit Under Construction At Hays State Prison
• Description: The only detailed local news coverage of the Hays construction project
• URL: https://chattooga1180.com/new-126-bed-correctional-unit-under-construction-at-hays-state-prison/

Local3News.com (Chattanooga)

• Georgia officials, lawmakers to tour Hays State Prison today
• Description: Coverage of official visits to Hays State Prison
• URL: https://www.local3news.com/local-news/whats-trending/georgia-officials-lawmakers-to-tour-hays-state-prison-today/article_cb8888cc-5b41-5e4c-8e2d-0821130a1ff5.html

Chattanooga Times Free Press

• Hays State Prison security upgrades get good reviews (May 3, 2013)
• Description: Historical coverage of 2013 security improvements at Hays
• URL: https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/may/03/hays-security-upgrades-get-good-reviews/

Chattanooga Times Free Press

• Danger stalks Hays State Prison (January 27, 2013)
• Description: Investigative report on violence and security failures at Hays in 2013
• URL: https://timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2013/jan/27/danger-stalks-hays-state-prison/98145

Coosa Valley News

• Hays Prison Inmates Among Twenty-three Gang Members Indicted on racketeering, drug trafficking, and firearm charges (November 2023)
• Description: Coverage of federal gang indictments involving Hays inmates
• URL: https://coosavalleynews.com/2023/11/hays-prison-inmates-among-twenty-three-gang-members-indicted-on-racketeering-drug-trafficking-and-firearm-charges/

13WMAZ (Macon)

• ‘State-of-the-art’ prison coming to Washington County — right behind the old one
• Description: Coverage of the new 3,000-bed prison construction near Davisboro
• URL: https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/local/new-prison-washington-county/93-dea1291e-49f8-4623-b831-4a86fac118ec

Capitol Beat News Service

• Georgia prisons chief pitches spending hikes for staffing, infrastructure needs
• Description: Coverage of Commissioner Oliver’s budget presentations
• URL: https://capitol-beat.org/2025/01/georgia-prisons-chief-pitches-spending-hikes-for-staffing-infrastructure-needs/

The Newnan Times-Herald

• Georgia prisons chief pitches spending hikes for staffing, infrastructure needs
• Description: Regional coverage of corrections budget requests
• URL: https://www.times-herald.com/news/georgia-prisons-chief-pitches-spending-hikes-for-staffing-infrastructure-needs/article_1c3c3962-e017-11ef-a21c-6b08d1351069.html

Industry and Specialized Publications

Corrections1

• Consultants: Ga. prisons in ‘emergency mode,’ with gang influence rising
• Description: Corrections industry coverage of the Guidehouse assessment findings
• URL: https://www.corrections1.com/investigations/consultants-ga-prisons-in-emergency-mode-with-gang-influence-rising

Corrections1

• Ga. prison sees exodus of correctional officers
• Description: Coverage of staffing crisis at Hays and other Georgia facilities
• URL: https://www.corrections1.com/corrections/articles/ga-prison-sees-exodus-of-correctional-officers-gYALe8L25tMUI6fy/

Corrections1

• Governor seeks $600M to fix Ga. prisons, improve staffing and safety
• Description: Industry analysis of the corrections funding package
• URL: https://www.corrections1.com/jail-management/governor-seeks-600m-to-fix-ga-prisons-improve-staffing-and-safety

Corrections1

• Federal judge imposes fines, monitor on Ga. prison
• Description: Coverage of contempt ruling against GDC for Jackson SMU conditions
• URL: https://www.corrections1.com/investigations/federal-judge-imposes-fines-monitor-on-ga-prison

Construction Dive

• Balfour Beatty secures $320M Georgia state prison contract
• Description: Construction industry coverage of the Washington County prison contract
• URL: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/balfour-beatty-georgia-state-prison-construction-contract/688485/

JUSTICE TRENDS Magazine

• Building for the future: Adapting Georgia’s prisons to a changing population
• Description: International corrections journal coverage of Georgia’s infrastructure strategy
• URL: https://justice-trends.press/building-for-the-future-adapting-georgias-prisons-to-a-changing-population/

GPS Press

• Inside Georgia’s Gangs: How Prisons Became Crime Hubs
• Description: Analysis of gang proliferation in Georgia prisons
• URL: https://gps.press/inside-georgias-gangs-how-prisons-became-crime-hubs/

Federal Criminal Defense Attorney (blog)

• Violence, Security Lapses, and Media Attention Lead to Reforms at Georgia Prison
• Description: Legal analysis of Hays State Prison problems and reforms
• URL: https://federalcriminaldefenseattorney.com/violence-security-lapses-and-media-attention-lead-to-reforms-at-georgia-prison/

Reference Sources

Wikipedia

• Hays State Prison
• Description: Encyclopedia entry with facility history and basic statistics
• URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hays_State_Prison

Wikipedia

• Macon State Prison
• Description: Encyclopedia entry on Macon State Prison including M building details
• URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macon_State_Prison

Wikipedia

• Ware State Prison
• Description: Encyclopedia entry on Ware State Prison in Waycross
• URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ware_State_Prison

Wikipedia

• Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison
• Description: Encyclopedia entry on Jackson facility including death row and SMU
• URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Diagnostic_and_Classification_State_Prison

Wikipedia

• Georgia State Prison
• Description: Encyclopedia entry on the closed Reidsville facility
• URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_State_Prison

Georgia Inmates Directory

• Hays State Prison, GA: Inmate Search, Visitation, Contact Info
• Description: Public information directory for Hays facility
• URL: https://georgiainmates.org/georgia/state/hays-state-prison/

1. DOJ Findings Report, https://www.justice.gov/d9/2024-09/findings_report_-_investigation_of_georgia_prisons.pdf[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
2. Gov. Kemp Press Release, https://gov.georgia.gov/press-releases/2025-01-07/gov-kemp-unveils-recommendations-system-wide-corrections-system[↩][↩]
3. AM 1180 Radio, https://chattooga1180.com/new-126-bed-correctional-unit-under-construction-at-hays-state-prison/[↩][↩]
4. Chattanooga Times Free Press, https://timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2013/jan/27/danger-stalks-hays-state-prison/98145[↩]
5. Chattanooga Times Free Press, https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/may/03/hays-security-upgrades-get-good-reviews/[↩]
6. Coosa Valley News, https://coosavalleynews.com/2023/11/hays-prison-inmates-among-twenty-three-gang-members-indicted-on-racketeering-drug-trafficking-and-firearm-charges/[↩]
7. GDC Hays page, https://gdc.georgia.gov/locations/hays-state-prison[↩]
8. AJC overview, https://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-news/ga-lawmakers-and-governor-propose-600-million-to-fix-state-prisons/2HUR7YIYLNBA5JCCIH6BYBTV7M/[↩]
9. 13WMAZ, https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/local/new-prison-washington-county/93-dea1291e-49f8-4623-b831-4a86fac118ec[↩]
10. AJC—Consultants in crisis, https://www.ajc.com/news/investigations/georgia-prisons-in-crisis-say-consultants-hired-by-governor/5P6BELWL4ZE7LK2BKWP3QT6Y2E/[↩][↩]
11. AJC investigation hub, https://www.ajc.com/news/investigations/georgia-prisons-the-ajcs-investigation-into-corruption-dysfunction-and-violence/P3GTS77W4RGHLN5GLJSS6WCV2Y/[↩]
12. Filter Magazine, https://filtermag.org/georgia-prison-violence-hunger/amp/[↩]
13. AJC—Deception as crisis builds, https://www.ajc.com/news/investigations/georgia-prison-officials-have-repeatedly-presented-false-or-misleading-information-to-federal-investigators-state-lawmakers-and-a-federal-judge/H76M74I6L5F5DKXEYSSZEQSLGY/[↩]