# GPS This Week — May 2–16, 2026 > ← All issuesGeorgia Prisoners' SpeakGPS This WeekMay 2–16, 2026Over the past two weeks GPS published three articles — including the latest in the No Way Out series — sent 373 advocacy emails to legisl… **Published**: 2026-05-17 **Source**: https://gps.press/newsletter/2026-05-17/ **Author**: GPS Staff --- [← All issues](https://gps.press/newsletter/#past-issues) | | | --- | | | | | --- | | Georgia Prisoners' Speak # GPS This Week May 2–16, 2026 | | Over the past two weeks GPS published three articles — including the latest in the No Way Out series — sent 373 advocacy emails to legislators, and welcomed 24 new advocates. \| \| \| --- \| \| New on GPS · The Architecture Is the Evidence ### Georgia built prisons for 24,657. They warehouse 42,869. Across four decades, GDC kept adding people to the same buildings. Dorms tripled. Cells double- and triple-bunked. **Medical, kitchens, libraries — unchanged.** The receipts — every facility, every design figure, every source — are now public. [See the receipts →](https://gps.press/warehouse/) \| ## In the News — Our Reporting, Their Megaphone \| \| \| --- \| \| May 16, 2026 — The Marshall Project [Rats, Insects and Mold: How Bad Food Leaves Prisoners Hungry and Sick](https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/05/16/georgia-prison-food-poor-health) Beth Schwartzapfel of **The Marshall Project** — the national criminal-justice newsroom — published a deep investigation this morning on Georgia's prison food crisis: a state spending .60 per person per day on three meals, prisoners receiving less than one serving of vegetables a day and 40% of required protein, mold-caked trays, rats in kitchens, and the gum disease and other malnutrition diagnoses that follow. **This story exists because of you.** Your GPS team conducted the interview that anchored the reporting and provided the source material, statistics, and connections to incarcerated sources whose firsthand accounts brought the data to life. This is exactly what the GPS media-outreach program is built to do — carry firsthand evidence from inside Georgia's prisons to the national audiences who can move the conversation. Read it: [on The Marshall Project](https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/05/16/georgia-prison-food-poor-health) or [on the GPS news aggregator](https://gps.press/gps-news/rats-insects-and-mold-how-bad-food-leaves-prisoners-hungry-and-sick/). \| ## Articles Published \| \| \| --- \| \| May 16, 2026 — Investigation [The Game They Learned: How GDC's Closed Promotion Pipeline Made Its Own Wardens — and Its Own Indictments](https://gps.press/the-game-they-learned-how-gdcs-closed-promotion-pipeline-made-its-own-wardens-and-its-own-indictments/) Three days after a Tattnall County grand jury indicted former Smith State Prison Warden Brian Adams on RICO and bribery charges, GPS publishes the empirical record that explains him: 100% of currently active state-prison wardens (43 of 43) were promoted from within GDC. The pipeline that produces Georgia's warden corps is a closed loop — and the result is the leadership now under federal investigation. \| \| May 10, 2026 — Education [10 Stoic Lessons from Marcus Aurelius for Prisoners](https://gps.press/10-stoic-lessons-from-marcus-aurelius-for-prisoners/) Marcus Aurelius's private notes offer prisoners and their families ten practical lessons for navigating difficult people, controlling anger, building an inner refuge, and finding freedom of mind in restrictive circumstances. \| \| May 3, 2026 — Featured Article, No-Way-Out [One Justice, One Year: How Georgia Erased a 146-Year Rule](https://gps.press/one-justice-one-year-how-georgia-erased-a-146-year-rule/) In 2008, the Georgia Supreme Court 4-3 confirmed defendants could challenge a void conviction under a statute on the books since 1863. Fourteen months later, a new 4-3 majority erased the rule. Article 3 of the No Way Out series. \| \| May 3, 2026 — Featured Article [When the Heat Comes for the Old: Georgia's Aging Prisoners Brace for Another Deadly Summer](https://gps.press/when-the-heat-comes-for-the-old-georgias-aging-prisoners-brace-for-another-deadly-summer/) Three of Georgia's 35 prisons are fully air-conditioned. More than 13,000 incarcerated Georgians are 50 or older. As another summer arrives and federal courts call prison heat unconstitutional, Georgia's aging prisoners face uncooled dorms with no published heat ceiling. \| ## Emails Sent on Your Behalf **398 emails total** this period: 373 advocacy emails sent to legislators, plus 25 welcome emails to newly joined advocates. ## New Advocates 24 new advocates joined the GPS Action Network this period. --- The GPS Team — [accountability@gps.press](mailto:accountability@gps.press) | | New on GPS · The Architecture Is the Evidence ### Georgia built prisons for 24,657. They warehouse 42,869. Across four decades, GDC kept adding people to the same buildings. Dorms tripled. Cells double- and triple-bunked. **Medical, kitchens, libraries — unchanged.** The receipts — every facility, every design figure, every source — are now public. [See the receipts →](https://gps.press/warehouse/) | | May 16, 2026 — The Marshall Project [Rats, Insects and Mold: How Bad Food Leaves Prisoners Hungry and Sick](https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/05/16/georgia-prison-food-poor-health) Beth Schwartzapfel of **The Marshall Project** — the national criminal-justice newsroom — published a deep investigation this morning on Georgia's prison food crisis: a state spending .60 per person per day on three meals, prisoners receiving less than one serving of vegetables a day and 40% of required protein, mold-caked trays, rats in kitchens, and the gum disease and other malnutrition diagnoses that follow. **This story exists because of you.** Your GPS team conducted the interview that anchored the reporting and provided the source material, statistics, and connections to incarcerated sources whose firsthand accounts brought the data to life. This is exactly what the GPS media-outreach program is built to do — carry firsthand evidence from inside Georgia's prisons to the national audiences who can move the conversation. Read it: [on The Marshall Project](https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/05/16/georgia-prison-food-poor-health) or [on the GPS news aggregator](https://gps.press/gps-news/rats-insects-and-mold-how-bad-food-leaves-prisoners-hungry-and-sick/). | | May 16, 2026 — Investigation [The Game They Learned: How GDC's Closed Promotion Pipeline Made Its Own Wardens — and Its Own Indictments](https://gps.press/the-game-they-learned-how-gdcs-closed-promotion-pipeline-made-its-own-wardens-and-its-own-indictments/) Three days after a Tattnall County grand jury indicted former Smith State Prison Warden Brian Adams on RICO and bribery charges, GPS publishes the empirical record that explains him: 100% of currently active state-prison wardens (43 of 43) were promoted from within GDC. The pipeline that produces Georgia's warden corps is a closed loop — and the result is the leadership now under federal investigation. | | May 10, 2026 — Education [10 Stoic Lessons from Marcus Aurelius for Prisoners](https://gps.press/10-stoic-lessons-from-marcus-aurelius-for-prisoners/) Marcus Aurelius's private notes offer prisoners and their families ten practical lessons for navigating difficult people, controlling anger, building an inner refuge, and finding freedom of mind in restrictive circumstances. | | May 3, 2026 — Featured Article, No-Way-Out [One Justice, One Year: How Georgia Erased a 146-Year Rule](https://gps.press/one-justice-one-year-how-georgia-erased-a-146-year-rule/) In 2008, the Georgia Supreme Court 4-3 confirmed defendants could challenge a void conviction under a statute on the books since 1863. Fourteen months later, a new 4-3 majority erased the rule. Article 3 of the No Way Out series. | | May 3, 2026 — Featured Article [When the Heat Comes for the Old: Georgia's Aging Prisoners Brace for Another Deadly Summer](https://gps.press/when-the-heat-comes-for-the-old-georgias-aging-prisoners-brace-for-another-deadly-summer/) Three of Georgia's 35 prisons are fully air-conditioned. More than 13,000 incarcerated Georgians are 50 or older. As another summer arrives and federal courts call prison heat unconstitutional, Georgia's aging prisoners face uncooled dorms with no published heat ceiling. | | | Georgia Prisoners' Speak # GPS This Week May 2–16, 2026 | | Over the past two weeks GPS published three articles — including the latest in the No Way Out series — sent 373 advocacy emails to legislators, and welcomed 24 new advocates. | | | --- | | New on GPS · The Architecture Is the Evidence ### Georgia built prisons for 24,657. They warehouse 42,869. Across four decades, GDC kept adding people to the same buildings. Dorms tripled. Cells double- and triple-bunked. **Medical, kitchens, libraries — unchanged.** The receipts — every facility, every design figure, every source — are now public. [See the receipts →](https://gps.press/warehouse/) | ## In the News — Our Reporting, Their Megaphone | | | --- | | May 16, 2026 — The Marshall Project [Rats, Insects and Mold: How Bad Food Leaves Prisoners Hungry and Sick](https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/05/16/georgia-prison-food-poor-health) Beth Schwartzapfel of **The Marshall Project** — the national criminal-justice newsroom — published a deep investigation this morning on Georgia's prison food crisis: a state spending .60 per person per day on three meals, prisoners receiving less than one serving of vegetables a day and 40% of required protein, mold-caked trays, rats in kitchens, and the gum disease and other malnutrition diagnoses that follow. **This story exists because of you.** Your GPS team conducted the interview that anchored the reporting and provided the source material, statistics, and connections to incarcerated sources whose firsthand accounts brought the data to life. This is exactly what the GPS media-outreach program is built to do — carry firsthand evidence from inside Georgia's prisons to the national audiences who can move the conversation. Read it: [on The Marshall Project](https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/05/16/georgia-prison-food-poor-health) or [on the GPS news aggregator](https://gps.press/gps-news/rats-insects-and-mold-how-bad-food-leaves-prisoners-hungry-and-sick/). | ## Articles Published | | | --- | | May 16, 2026 — Investigation [The Game They Learned: How GDC's Closed Promotion Pipeline Made Its Own Wardens — and Its Own Indictments](https://gps.press/the-game-they-learned-how-gdcs-closed-promotion-pipeline-made-its-own-wardens-and-its-own-indictments/) Three days after a Tattnall County grand jury indicted former Smith State Prison Warden Brian Adams on RICO and bribery charges, GPS publishes the empirical record that explains him: 100% of currently active state-prison wardens (43 of 43) were promoted from within GDC. The pipeline that produces Georgia's warden corps is a closed loop — and the result is the leadership now under federal investigation. | | May 10, 2026 — Education [10 Stoic Lessons from Marcus Aurelius for Prisoners](https://gps.press/10-stoic-lessons-from-marcus-aurelius-for-prisoners/) Marcus Aurelius's private notes offer prisoners and their families ten practical lessons for navigating difficult people, controlling anger, building an inner refuge, and finding freedom of mind in restrictive circumstances. | | May 3, 2026 — Featured Article, No-Way-Out [One Justice, One Year: How Georgia Erased a 146-Year Rule](https://gps.press/one-justice-one-year-how-georgia-erased-a-146-year-rule/) In 2008, the Georgia Supreme Court 4-3 confirmed defendants could challenge a void conviction under a statute on the books since 1863. Fourteen months later, a new 4-3 majority erased the rule. Article 3 of the No Way Out series. | | May 3, 2026 — Featured Article [When the Heat Comes for the Old: Georgia's Aging Prisoners Brace for Another Deadly Summer](https://gps.press/when-the-heat-comes-for-the-old-georgias-aging-prisoners-brace-for-another-deadly-summer/) Three of Georgia's 35 prisons are fully air-conditioned. More than 13,000 incarcerated Georgians are 50 or older. As another summer arrives and federal courts call prison heat unconstitutional, Georgia's aging prisoners face uncooled dorms with no published heat ceiling. | ## Emails Sent on Your Behalf **398 emails total** this period: 373 advocacy emails sent to legislators, plus 25 welcome emails to newly joined advocates. ## New Advocates 24 new advocates joined the GPS Action Network this period. --- The GPS Team — [accountability@gps.press](mailto:accountability@gps.press) | | New on GPS · The Architecture Is the Evidence ### Georgia built prisons for 24,657. They warehouse 42,869. Across four decades, GDC kept adding people to the same buildings. Dorms tripled. Cells double- and triple-bunked. **Medical, kitchens, libraries — unchanged.** The receipts — every facility, every design figure, every source — are now public. [See the receipts →](https://gps.press/warehouse/) | | May 16, 2026 — The Marshall Project [Rats, Insects and Mold: How Bad Food Leaves Prisoners Hungry and Sick](https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/05/16/georgia-prison-food-poor-health) Beth Schwartzapfel of **The Marshall Project** — the national criminal-justice newsroom — published a deep investigation this morning on Georgia's prison food crisis: a state spending .60 per person per day on three meals, prisoners receiving less than one serving of vegetables a day and 40% of required protein, mold-caked trays, rats in kitchens, and the gum disease and other malnutrition diagnoses that follow. **This story exists because of you.** Your GPS team conducted the interview that anchored the reporting and provided the source material, statistics, and connections to incarcerated sources whose firsthand accounts brought the data to life. This is exactly what the GPS media-outreach program is built to do — carry firsthand evidence from inside Georgia's prisons to the national audiences who can move the conversation. Read it: [on The Marshall Project](https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/05/16/georgia-prison-food-poor-health) or [on the GPS news aggregator](https://gps.press/gps-news/rats-insects-and-mold-how-bad-food-leaves-prisoners-hungry-and-sick/). | | May 16, 2026 — Investigation [The Game They Learned: How GDC's Closed Promotion Pipeline Made Its Own Wardens — and Its Own Indictments](https://gps.press/the-game-they-learned-how-gdcs-closed-promotion-pipeline-made-its-own-wardens-and-its-own-indictments/) Three days after a Tattnall County grand jury indicted former Smith State Prison Warden Brian Adams on RICO and bribery charges, GPS publishes the empirical record that explains him: 100% of currently active state-prison wardens (43 of 43) were promoted from within GDC. The pipeline that produces Georgia's warden corps is a closed loop — and the result is the leadership now under federal investigation. | | May 10, 2026 — Education [10 Stoic Lessons from Marcus Aurelius for Prisoners](https://gps.press/10-stoic-lessons-from-marcus-aurelius-for-prisoners/) Marcus Aurelius's private notes offer prisoners and their families ten practical lessons for navigating difficult people, controlling anger, building an inner refuge, and finding freedom of mind in restrictive circumstances. | | May 3, 2026 — Featured Article, No-Way-Out [One Justice, One Year: How Georgia Erased a 146-Year Rule](https://gps.press/one-justice-one-year-how-georgia-erased-a-146-year-rule/) In 2008, the Georgia Supreme Court 4-3 confirmed defendants could challenge a void conviction under a statute on the books since 1863. Fourteen months later, a new 4-3 majority erased the rule. Article 3 of the No Way Out series. | | May 3, 2026 — Featured Article [When the Heat Comes for the Old: Georgia's Aging Prisoners Brace for Another Deadly Summer](https://gps.press/when-the-heat-comes-for-the-old-georgias-aging-prisoners-brace-for-another-deadly-summer/) Three of Georgia's 35 prisons are fully air-conditioned. More than 13,000 incarcerated Georgians are 50 or older. As another summer arrives and federal courts call prison heat unconstitutional, Georgia's aging prisoners face uncooled dorms with no published heat ceiling. | [Subscribe to GPS This Week](https://gps.press/newsletter/#signup)