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 …
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Marquez Powell was exonerated on Thursday after spending nearly 21 years in a Georgia prison for a 2005 murder he maintained he did not commit. A Fulton County judge vacated his conviction following a joint motion from the Georgia Innocence Project and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit, which cited newly developed …
Two inmates died within 24 hours of each other on June 13 and June 14 at Washington State Prison near Davisboro, Georgia. The Georgia Department of Corrections reported their causes of death as undetermined, with no signs of altercations or foul play. The bodies were sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Laboratory for …
The Georgia Department of Corrections is investigating an altercation involving three inmates at Dooly State Prison that occurred on June 7, 2026. According to GDC, one inmate was taken to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and has since returned to the facility. The department stated that the incident remains under investigation and that additional …
Two inmates at Washington State Prison in Georgia died within 24 hours of each other, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC). Israel Jones, in his late 60s and serving a 47-year sentence for armed robbery from Chatham County, died on Friday; Courtney Davis, in his early 40s and serving a 10-year sentence for …
Inmate hospitalized after Dooly State Prison ‘altercation’ GDC says one inmate was treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and has since returned to the facility UNADILLA, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — The Georgia Department of Corrections is investigating an “altercation” involving three inmates at Dooly State Prison. GDC confirmed Monday that it happened on Sunday, …