A federal indictment unsealed June 24 charges 12 individuals in what prosecutors describe as the largest coordinated drone-smuggling prosecution to date, alleging they used six drones to drop contraband including methamphetamine, cell phones, and saw blades into ten federal prisons across eight states. The conspiracy, which ran from September 2023 to May 2026, targeted two …
An inmate at Wheeler Correctional Facility in Georgia was sentenced to 188 months in prison for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy. Dequatte Tucker, 34, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, with much of the operation directed from inside Georgia state prisons using contraband cell phones. Two co-defendants, …
The Georgia Department of Corrections is investigating the deaths of two inmates at Valdosta State Prison. Antavious Bailey died on June 21 and Steven Bryant died on June 23, with official causes of death pending autopsies by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab. The GDC Office of Professional Standards is investigating both cases as …
Federal agents arrested nine people, most from Macon, in connection with a conspiracy that allegedly used drones to smuggle drugs, cell phones, tobacco, and weapons such as saw blades into prisons. The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, describes drone deliveries to 10 prisons across eight states, including two facilities in Georgia: one in Atlanta and one in …
A drone is seen carrying a payload as photographed by the Georgia Department of Corrections. (Georgia Department of Corrections) (NEW YORK) — Twelve individuals have been charged in what the Justice Department is calling a vast conspiracy to smuggle contraband into 10 federal prisons across the country through a coordinated drone operation. The 17-count indictment, …
A new Prison Policy Initiative report finds that the 17 states and D.C. which have eliminated discretionary parole for most incarcerated people still maintain parole boards and other conditional release mechanisms, though these systems are often overlooked. The report provides a comprehensive table detailing eligibility criteria, board composition, and outcomes for these “post-parole” states, noting …
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that a former Louisiana inmate, Damon Landor, cannot sue prison officials for money damages under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act after they forcibly cut his dreadlocks, violating his Rastafari beliefs. The Court held that the federal law does not authorize lawsuits against individual officers, though the …
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that a Rastafarian inmate, Damon Landor, cannot sue Louisiana prison officials for forcibly shaving his dreadlocks, finding that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) does not provide a cause of action against individual officers under Congress’s Spending Clause authority. The decision, which split along ideological lines, …
The Georgia Court of Appeals declined to hear an appeal from former Smith State Prison Warden Brian Adams and former correctional officer Ireon Moore in a wrongful death lawsuit, citing a lack of jurisdiction due to a procedural issue. The lawsuit, filed by the family of Bobby C. Kicklighter, alleges that Adams and Moore facilitated …
According to an AJC.com report, Sheqweetta Vaughan, a 35-year-old mother who had just entered the Georgia prison system to serve a two-year sentence, died at Lee Arrendale State Prison six months after giving birth. Her body was found decomposing in a hot cell, highlighting ongoing dysfunction within the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) despite increased …