330 inmates died in Georgia prisons in 2024—one of the deadliest years in state history. Violence increased 35% compared to 2023. Homicides rose 95.8% in just three years. Staff vacancy rates exceed 70% in 10 facilities. Gangs control daily operations while guards smuggle contraband. The DOJ found “deliberately indifferent” conditions that violate the Constitution. Georgia’s prisons aren’t correctional facilities—they’re war zones. 1
The Death Toll
2024 mortality reveals systemic collapse:
- 330 deaths in 2024—one of the deadliest years ever
- 100 homicides in 2024—violence out of control
- 142 homicides from 2018-2023—accelerating trend
- 35% increase in violence—compared to 2023
DonTavis Mintz’s body went unnoticed for days at Ware State Prison. His mother received remains identifiable only by a single tooth. This is what abandonment looks like.
Staffing Collapse
Georgia can’t staff its prisons:
- 18 facilities over 60% vacancy—as of December 2023
- 10 facilities over 70% vacancy—effectively abandoned
- 2,600 positions unfilled—out of 11,000
- No oversight possible—not enough staff to maintain control
When facilities are understaffed, routine searches stop, medical care delays, and rehabilitation programs cancel. Violence fills the vacuum.
The Mental Health Crisis
Violence traumatizes everyone:
- 70% of inmates—have serious untreated mental health needs
- 60% of staff—report PTSD symptoms
- Daily stabbings—normalized violence
- No treatment available—not enough staff to provide care
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke stated: “People are assaulted, stabbed, raped and killed or left to languish inside facilities that are woefully understaffed.” 2
What the DOJ Requires
The DOJ outlined 82 recommendations:
- Zero-tolerance for sexual violence—actual enforcement
- Consistent policies—across the prison system
- Adequate staffing—enough officers to maintain safety
- Independent oversight—external monitoring with power
Georgia has the recommendations. It chooses not to implement them.
Take Action
Use Impact Justice AI to send advocacy emails demanding safe conditions in Georgia prisons. The free tool crafts personalized messages to Georgia lawmakers—no experience required.
Demand:
- Implementation of DOJ recommendations
- Adequate prison staffing levels
- Independent oversight with enforcement power
- Accountability for violence and deaths
Further Reading
- Inside Georgia’s Gangs: How Prisons Became Crime Hubs
- Georgia Prison Deaths: DOJ Findings Explained
- 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.
Due to the horrific conditions inside of Georgia’s correctional facilities the use of cell phones by the offenders has been the means by which they have been able to often call for help when correctional officers are unavailable and the means by which offenders have also been able to share the crisis in which they live. Policy makers always want to attack cell phones within the prisons, but those devices have saved lives and have given many offenders the opportunity to hold on to a sense of dignity and humanity that has been stripped from the prison system as a whole.