Latest GDC News

Judge Compares Federal Bureau of Prisons to “Soviet Gulag” In a ruling earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton blasted the federal prison agency for a pattern of medical neglect after officials ignored his order to schedule an appointment with a specialist for a woman at high risk of breast cancer. In a ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="Judge Compares Federal Bureau of Prisons to “Soviet Gulag”" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/judge-compares-federal-bureau-of-prisons-to-soviet-gulag/#more-9861" aria-label="Read more about Judge Compares Federal Bureau of Prisons to “Soviet Gulag”">Read more</a></p>

Prison Dining Giant Aramark Serves Inedible Food to Drive Commissary Sales, Lawsuit Alleges Incarcerated people in West Virginia filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the largest prison food provider in the country fails to offer adequate meals in the cafeteria while charging high prices for fresh produce and snacks in the commissary. A federal lawsuit ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="Prison Dining Giant Aramark Serves Inedible Food to Drive Commissary Sales, Lawsuit Alleges" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/prison-dining-giant-aramark-serves-inedible-food-to-drive-commissary-sales-lawsuit-alleges/#more-9419" aria-label="Read more about Prison Dining Giant Aramark Serves Inedible Food to Drive Commissary Sales, Lawsuit Alleges">Read more</a></p>

Voices Broken Buildings, Broken People In prison, bad days don’t come cheap. 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 few items in his cell not bolted down were ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="Broken Buildings, Broken People" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/broken-buildings-broken-people/#more-6640" aria-label="Read more about Broken Buildings, Broken People">Read more</a></p>

Imprisoned People Can Do More than ‘Scare’ Kids ‘Straight’ “Scared straight” programs don’t work. But that doesn’t mean incarcerated people shouldn’t mentor at-risk kids. 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 ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="Imprisoned People Can Do More than ‘Scare’ Kids ‘Straight’" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/imprisoned-people-can-do-more-than-scare-kids-straight/#more-6645" aria-label="Read more about Imprisoned People Can Do More than ‘Scare’ Kids ‘Straight’">Read more</a></p>

Newsletter How Prison Dog-Training Programs Transform Lives “We are not just training dogs — we are training ourselves to be better humans.” 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 sentences, ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="How Prison Dog-Training Programs Transform Lives" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/how-prison-dog-training-programs-transform-lives/#more-6652" aria-label="Read more about How Prison Dog-Training Programs Transform Lives">Read more</a></p>

Credit: Sofi Gratas/GPB News Section Branding Header Content Too few guards and too many drones: Georgia prisons leaders alert lawmakers to dangers Primary Content LISTEN: While the number of prison guards in Georgia prisons is at a 15-year low, corrections officials say the number of people incarcerated in the state is at a 15-year high ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="Too few guards and too many drones: Georgia prisons leaders alert lawmakers to dangers" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/too-few-guards-and-too-many-drones-georgia-prisons-leaders-alert-lawmakers-to-dangers/#more-7085" aria-label="Read more about Too few guards and too many drones: Georgia prisons leaders alert lawmakers to dangers">Read more</a></p>

Too few guards and too many drones: Georgia prisons leaders alert lawmakers to dangers  Georgia Public Broadcasting

Credit: Grant Blankenship/GPB News Section Branding Header Content Gov. Kemp recommends adding $372 million to shore up Georgia prisons Primary Content Gov. Brian Kemp has released his recommendations for strengthening Georgia’s struggling prison system, which include an additional $372 million in state spending. “We do realize and recognize that this is — I don’t know ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="Gov. Kemp recommends adding $372 million to shore up Georgia prisons – Georgia Public Broadcasting" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/gov-kemp-recommends-adding-372-million-to-shore-up-georgia-prisons-georgia-public-broadcasting/#more-6686" aria-label="Read more about Gov. Kemp recommends adding $372 million to shore up Georgia prisons – Georgia Public Broadcasting">Read more</a></p>

Section Branding Header Content State prisons chief pitches case for funding boost Primary Content ATLANTA — Georgia Department of Corrections officials began laying the groundwork Wednesday for an infusion of state funding to beef up staffing, replace aging infrastructure, and improve inmate health care. The state’s workforce of correctional officers plummeted during the COVID pandemic ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="State prisons chief pitches case for funding boost – Georgia Public Broadcasting" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/state-prisons-chief-pitches-case-for-funding-boost-georgia-public-broadcasting/#more-6687" aria-label="Read more about State prisons chief pitches case for funding boost – Georgia Public Broadcasting">Read more</a></p>

Credit: Grant Blankenship/GPB News Section Branding Header Content The federal Department of Justice: ‘deliberate indifference’ to violence in Georgia prisons Primary Content LISTEN: After a yearslong investigation, the Department of Justice says violence in Georgia prisons is at a “crisis level.” GPB’s Grant Blankenship reports. In a blistering, just-released report years in the making, the ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="The federal Department of Justice: ‘deliberate indifference’ to violence in Georgia prisons – Georgia Public Broadcasting" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/the-federal-department-of-justice-deliberate-indifference-to-violence-in-georgia-prisons-georgia-public-broadcasting/#more-6688" aria-label="Read more about The federal Department of Justice: ‘deliberate indifference’ to violence in Georgia prisons – Georgia Public Broadcasting">Read more</a></p>

This is The Marshall Project’s Closing Argument newsletter, a weekly deep dive into a key criminal justice issue. Want this delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to future newsletters here. For decades, Louisiana had the nation’s highest rate of incarceration. And — given that the U.S. is among the most carceral countries on the planet — ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="Crime Laws: How Louisiana, Georgia, Other States Embrace ‘Tough-on-Crime" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/crime-laws-how-louisiana-georgia-other-states-embrace-tough-on-crime/#more-6772" aria-label="Read more about Crime Laws: How Louisiana, Georgia, Other States Embrace ‘Tough-on-Crime">Read more</a></p>

When Andrew Phillips took a job as a corrections officer at Georgia’s Smith State Prison in 2021, he was desperate for work. Shortly after he started, he noticed a problem. The prison housed about 1,500 men, and each shift was supposed to have 30 officers to guard them, but most days there were half that, ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="Data Reveals Prison Crisis: More Prisoners, Fewer Correctional Officers" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/data-reveals-prison-crisis-more-prisoners-fewer-correctional-officers/#more-6770" aria-label="Read more about Data Reveals Prison Crisis: More Prisoners, Fewer Correctional Officers">Read more</a></p>

At a Georgia state House of Representatives hearing on prison conditions in September, a corrections officer called in to testify, interrupting his shift to tell lawmakers how dire conditions had become. On a “good day,” he told lawmakers, he had maybe six or seven officers to supervise roughly 1,200 people. He said he had recently ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="As Corrections Officers Quit in Droves, Prisons Get Even More Dangerous" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/as-corrections-officers-quit-in-droves-prisons-get-even-more-dangerous/#more-6771" aria-label="Read more about As Corrections Officers Quit in Droves, Prisons Get Even More Dangerous">Read more</a></p>

A lawsuit filed by the family of a man killed while serving time in a nearby prison ended this week for $4 million settlement with the state after David Henegar was killed by his cellmate at the Johnson State Prison in Wrightsville. The settlement was agreed upon just a little over a week before a ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="State Settles Lawsuit In Death of Area GDC Inmate" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/state-settles-lawsuit-in-death-of-area-gdc-inmate-3/#more-9900" aria-label="Read more about State Settles Lawsuit In Death of Area GDC Inmate">Read more</a></p>

A lawsuit filed by the family of a man killed while serving time in a nearby prison ended this week for $4 million settlement with the state after David Henegar was killed by his cellmate at the Johnson State Prison in Wrightsville. The settlement was agreed upon just a little over a week before a ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="State Settles Lawsuit In Death of Area GDC Inmate" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/state-settles-lawsuit-in-death-of-area-gdc-inmate-2/#more-9879" aria-label="Read more about State Settles Lawsuit In Death of Area GDC Inmate">Read more</a></p>

Mass incarceration has devastated communities around the country, exacerbating poverty, inhibiting economic mobility, and causing local economies to stagnate. Vera’s new Incarceration and Inequality Project (IIP) Data Explorer is an interactive tool that gives advocates and policymakers ready access to data on the connection between incarceration and economic indicators—both nationally and within their counties. In ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="Paying for Prison: How Incarceration Reinforces Poverty" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/paying-for-prison-how-incarceration-reinforces-poverty/#more-9853" aria-label="Read more about Paying for Prison: How Incarceration Reinforces Poverty">Read more</a></p>

Inmate dies at Hancock State Prison, investigation underway The death is being investigated by the GDC’s Office of Professional Standards, and the investigation is ongoing. SPARTA, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — An inmate died Tuesday at Hancock State Prison, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. The inmate has been identified as Jacorey Pearson. The cause of ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="Inmate dies at Hancock State Prison, investigation underway" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/inmate-dies-at-hancock-state-prison-investigation-underway/#more-9842" aria-label="Read more about Inmate dies at Hancock State Prison, investigation underway">Read more</a></p>

3 hours ago … State Settles Lawsuit In Death of Area GDC Inmate. A lawsuit filed by the family of a man killed while serving time in a nearby prison ended this week for $4 …

Georgia prisoner strike comes out of lockdown By Kung Li Georgia prisoners came out of their cells today, ending the lockdown phase of the largest prison work strike in U.S. history. The coordinated, nonviolent action drew support from around the country. Months in the planning, the work strike this past week surprised prison officials. Officials ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="Georgia prisoner strike comes out of lockdown" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/georgia-prisoner-strike-comes-out-of-lockdown/#more-6762" aria-label="Read more about Georgia prisoner strike comes out of lockdown">Read more</a></p>

Georgia Prisoners’ Strike: “We locked ourselves down.” In a protest that appears to be spreading through Georgia’s prison system, inmates are striking for better conditions. One interesting facet of this rare prison strike, which reaches across multiple facilities and across racial and factional lines, is the participants’ use of self-imposed lockdown to serve their own ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="Georgia Prisoners’ Strike: “We locked ourselves down.”" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/georgia-prisoners-strike-we-locked-ourselves-down/#more-6763" aria-label="Read more about Georgia Prisoners’ Strike: “We locked ourselves down.”">Read more</a></p>

Last week a diverse group of nonviolent protesters across Georgia stood up for their rights, calling for decent wages, better social services and respect for their civil liberties. It didn’t take long for the government to crack down on the demonstrations, however: the protesters were already in prison. The uprising of Georgia inmates on December ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="Georgia Prison Strike: A Hidden Labor Force Resists" class="read-more button" href="https://gps.press/gps-news/georgia-prison-strike-a-hidden-labor-force-resists/#more-6761" aria-label="Read more about Georgia Prison Strike: A Hidden Labor Force Resists">Read more</a></p>