Smuggling cases at Georgia prison fizzle: drugs were never tested

Smuggling cases at Georgia prison fizzle: Drugs were never tested The arrests created headlines throughout Georgia and even beyond. Two young female correctional officers showed up for their shifts at Calhoun State Prison in South Georgia with suspicious-looking Hot Pockets packages. When the packages were examined, the arrest warrants would later allege, they were found …

Read more

Broken Buildings, Broken People

Voices Donald Tong / Pexels Nick Hacheney, Tomas KeenMay 20, 2025 Share Copy Link Email Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp Reddit LinkedIn Jerry stormed into his cell, shaking with rage. He threw his coat and gloves in a pile on his bunk and looked around for something to smash. It’s futile, and he knows it. The …

Read more

Georgia prisons get $600M for overhaul—lawmakers say it’s a start

More than $600M to overhaul a prison system in crisis. But it’s just the start Top Georgia lawmakers acknowledged during this year’s legislative session that costly steps were needed to deal with a prison system operating in crisis mode, and they acted accordingly. The state House and Senate approved most of what Gov. Brian Kemp …

Read more

Imprisoned People Can Do More than ‘Scare’ Kids ‘Straight’

Fifaliana Joy via Pixabay Antoine Davis, Christopher BlackwellMay 07, 2025 Share Copy Link Email Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp Reddit LinkedIn In 1978, the Oscar-winning documentary “Scared Straight!” popularized the idea that the best way to prevent young people from incarceration is to scare them. The film focuses on a group of “juvenile delinquents” who get …

Read more

How Prison Dog-Training Programs Transform Lives

Newsletter Andy Luo / Unsplash Aaron Edward Olson and Randy BrennanApr 09, 2025 Share Copy Link Email Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp Reddit LinkedIn Prisons are designed for control, not compassion. Rows of razor wire, towering walls, and unyielding steel doors remind us we’re meant to be forgotten. For those of us serving life and long …

Read more

How ‘Bankruptcy’ Lets Private Prison Contractors Evade Accountability

Newsletter Melinda Gimpel / Unsplash Devontae TorrienteFeb 26, 2025 Share Copy Link Email Facebook Twitter Bluesky WhatsApp Reddit LinkedIn Private jail medical contractors have made a business out of avoiding consequences for civil rights violations. They offer local governments inexpensive, substandard medical care for their jails and then find creative ways to avoid litigation. Wellpath, …

Read more

Georgia prison homicides soar as lawmakers focus on fixes – AJC.com

As state legislators work to craft complex and costly plans to fix Georgia’s troubled prison system, they may face an extra challenge: Conditions inside the wire appear to be getting even worse. Thirteen prison deaths from Jan. 1 to Feb. 4 are being investigated as homicides, prison officials told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That’s an extraordinarily …

Read more

Gang-related violence results in two deaths at Georgia prison – AJC.com

Two prisoners at Hancock State Prison were found dead just feet apart after gang-related violence erupted Thursday at one of the most poorly staffed prisons in Georgia. The bodies of William Holeman, 34, and Prince Porter, 38, were found in the same dorm about 15-20 feet apart, according to Hancock County Coroner Dontrelle Andrews, who …

Read more

Georgia prisons are in crisis, say consultants hired by Gov. Kemp

Staffing vacancies for correctional officers at 20 of Georgia’s 34 prisons have reached “emergency levels,” making it impossible to keep up with even basic protocols such as routine counts of prisoners, according to consultants hired by Gov. Brian Kemp to evaluate the Department of Corrections. At some prisons, gangs are “effectively running the facilities,” in …

Read more

Report a Problem