# GPS This Week: October 17 to 31, 2026 > ← All issuesLéelo en españolGreetings: When will the lockdown that began January 11 at Washington State Prison end? GPS put that question to the warden in writing on October 30. The letter also asks w… **Published**: 2026-11-01 **Source**: https://gps.press/newsletter/2026-11-01/ **Author**: GPS Staff --- [← All issues](https://gps.press/newsletter/#past-issues)[Léelo en español](https://gps.press/es/they-told-the-people-in-charge-then-they-left-es/) Greetings: When will the lockdown that began January 11 at Washington State Prison end? GPS put that question to the warden in writing on October 30. The letter also asks who set the prison's $30 weekly store limit when Department policy sets $80, and whether the padlocks and slide bolts State Fire Marshal inspectors found on cell doors in September have been removed. After a fight at Hays State Prison, the Department placed 27 state prisons on lockdown. Hancock State Prison was one of them. A day later, a man held there was found in his cell after an apparent fight and was pronounced dead at a hospital in Washington County, according to the Hancock County coroner. A woman who entered custody at McRae and was later moved to Pulaski State Prison died of tuberculosis complications. The Department says it has finished contact tracing and will test anyone who asks for screening. | | | --- | | **6** articles · **1,040** advocate letters to legislators · **7** letters to officials · **54** open records requests · **468** stories to legislators · **7** new advocates | ## Our letter to Washington State Prison On October 30, GPS sent a letter to the warden of Washington State Prison, with copies to the Commissioner of Corrections, the head of the Department's facilities division and its Office of the Ombudsman. It asks three questions: - Who set the prison's $30 weekly store limit, when Department policy sets $80? - Have the padlocks and slide bolts that State Fire Marshal inspectors found on cell doors in September been removed? - When will the lockdown that began January 11 end? The letter went to the prison by email and by fax. We published it in full so families and the public can read exactly what was asked. [Read the letter](https://www.facebook.com/122174880848682160/posts/122187715988682160) ## In the news A man dies at Hancock State Prison after an apparent fight Yahoo reported that a man held at Hancock State Prison was found in his cell around 7:15 a.m. Friday and appeared to have been in a recent fight, according to the Hancock County coroner. He was pronounced dead at a hospital in Washington County. His death came a day after Hancock and more than 25 other Georgia prisons were placed on lockdown. [Read more](https://gps.press/gps-news/inmate-involved-in-fight-at-hancock-state-prison-dies-coroner-says-yahoo/) 27 prisons on lockdown after a fight at Hays State Prison Patch reported that the Department of Corrections placed 27 state prisons on lockdown after what it called a gang-related fight Tuesday at Hays State Prison in Chattooga County. Three men held there were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and have returned. The Department called the lockdown a precaution against retaliation and said it will last until further notice. [Read more](https://gps.press/gps-news/27-ga-prisons-on-lockdown-after-3-inmates-injured-patch/) The Department confirms a tuberculosis death at Pulaski State Prison WGXA reported that a woman who entered custody at McRae Women's Diagnostic Facility and was later moved to Pulaski State Prison died Monday of tuberculosis complications, according to the Department. The Department told the station it has completed contact tracing and will test exposed staff and people held there, as well as anyone who asks for screening. [Read more](https://gps.press/gps-news/incarcerated-woman-dies-from-tb-complications-after-transfer-between-georgia-prisons-wgxa/) Breast cancer care for Black women in Georgia prisons Capital B Atlanta reported on delays and barriers Black women in Georgia prisons face in getting breast cancer screening and treatment. A woman who spent 20 years incarcerated told the outlet she waited six years for a biopsy. The Department said its care meets community standards. Advocates and physicians said its policy doesn't match practice. [Read more](https://gps.press/gps-news/black-women-in-georgia-prisons-struggle-to-get-breast-cancer-care/) Forfeiture sought in a Smith State Prison contraband case The Georgia Virtue reported that the Atlantic Circuit District Attorney's Office has filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking $115,710.36 from the wife of a man held at Smith State Prison. Court documents cited in the report accuse her of bringing methamphetamine into a visit and supplying him contraband for about three years. These are accusations, not findings. [Read more](https://gps.press/gps-news/state-seeks-seizure-of-115k-tied-to-wife-of-inmate-3-year-contraband-operation-at-smith-state-prison-the-georgia-virtue/) A death at Macon State Prison investigated as a homicide WGXA reported that the Department is investigating the October 21 death of a man serving a life sentence at Macon State Prison as a homicide. The cause of death is undetermined, and his body was sent to the GBI crime lab for an official finding. [Read more](https://gps.press/gps-news/inmate-serving-life-for-toombs-county-murder-found-dead-homicide-investigation-ongoing-wgxa/) ## New from GPS [The Briefing Room is open](https://gps.press/briefing-room/) GPS opened the Briefing Room: short video briefings on Georgia's prisons, made for legislators, their staff and reporters. There are 13 topics up, from the prison budget, officer staffing and health care to deaths in custody, the Justice Department findings, parole, aging prisoners and food. Each opens with a two-minute introduction. Then you ask your own questions, by typing or by voice, and the answers come back spoken, with a link to the source of every figure. [Visit the Briefing Room](https://gps.press/briefing-room/) [A pound of chicken, beside a Dooly supper](https://gps.press/food/) GDC's recipe card calls for a pound of raw chicken, bone in, for each leg quarter it serves. We bought a leg quarter at that weight, weighed it raw and again after baking, and photographed it beside a supper served at Dooly State Prison. The food page also posts GDC's 28-day menu day by day, every meal and portion from GDC's own recipe cards. In USDA's food database, most chicken bologna and franks like those on the trays are made with mechanically separated chicken. The state budgeted $1.98 a day for food for its newest prison beds, about 66 cents a meal. We've asked the Department for its own food-cost reports. [See the photos](https://gps.press/food/) [Add a remembrance for someone who died](https://gps.press/georgia-prison-deaths/) Families can now add a remembrance to the record of someone who died in a Georgia prison. It can be written in English or Spanish, with a photo if you want one. A person at GPS reads each one before it appears. [Go to the records](https://gps.press/georgia-prison-deaths/) [Tell us what was on the tray](https://gps.press/tray) People inside and their families can report what was actually served at gps.press/tray (in Spanish, gps.press/bandeja), with photos and no name required. Each report is set against GDC's menu for that prison and day. [Make a report](https://gps.press/tray) [A briefing on the prisons in their district, sent to 68 legislators](https://gps.press/vision2027/) We emailed each of the 68 sitting Georgia legislators whose district holds a prison a briefing on those prisons. For each prison it sets out how many people it holds against what it was built to hold, deaths since 2020 by cause and the names of the people killed in homicides, staffing, kitchen inspections, lawsuits settled, contraband arrests the Department reported, and what the U.S. Justice Department's 2024 findings said. Every figure is dated and sourced. In the 2027 session we'll ask members to take up the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act, which would remove the four-year filing deadline Georgia added to its habeas corpus statute in 2004. [Read more](https://gps.press/vision2027/) [A mother's account of TB at McRae and Pulaski, sent to every legislator](https://gps.press/a-sentence-that-isnt-supposed-to-be-a-death-sentence/) We sent every member of the Georgia General Assembly a postcard and an email carrying a Tell My Story account from a mother whose daughter is at McRae Women's Facility. She writes about tuberculosis at McRae and Pulaski, women refused masks, and women who tested positive sent back into their dorms. The same day, the Department confirmed to WSB-TV that a woman held at Pulaski State Prison had died of complications of tuberculosis. We've asked the Department of Public Health and the Department of Corrections for their records. [Read her account](https://gps.press/a-sentence-that-isnt-supposed-to-be-a-death-sentence/) Our habeas papers, delivered to the House study committee We had our paper for the House Blue-Ribbon Study Committee on Criminal Post-Conviction Litigation and our fifty-state survey printed and bound. We sent 8 sets to the Capitol, one to each member's office. [Each prison from the air, 1970s to today](https://gps.press/facility/arrendale-state-prison/) Each of the 35 prison pages on gps.press now has a “Then and now” row of aerial photographs of the same square of ground, from U.S. Geological Survey photos of the 1970s and 1980s through 1993, 1999 and today. You can see what a prison looked like when it opened and what was built later. [See an example](https://gps.press/facility/arrendale-state-prison/) [More of GPS in Spanish](https://gps.press/es/) The Become an Advocate page, our advocacy toolkits, the daily Take Action cards and the grievance builder now work in Spanish. People who sign up in Spanish get their emails in Spanish. [GPS en español](https://gps.press/es/) ## Upcoming events Worldwide Chain Breakers is holding a series of peaceful protests outside Georgia prisons, a different prison each time. The public is welcome, and GPS encourages you to go. Families, advocates, formerly incarcerated people, faith leaders and community members are all invited. Bring a sign. The organizers are asking for safer living conditions, accountability and transparency, humane treatment, adequate medical care, meaningful rehabilitation, better communication and real reform. The organizers' ground rules: stay in lawful public areas and off prison property. Don't block roads, gates, driveways, entrances or emergency vehicles. No violence or threats, and don't confront or harass staff, visitors or law enforcement. Follow lawful instructions, and if anyone tries to provoke an argument, don't engage. If roadside parking gets crowded, the organizers will make other arrangements on the day. Peaceful protest at Pulaski State Prison Saturday, November 14, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., two weeks from now. Pulaski State Prison, 373 Upper River Road, Hawkinsville, GA 31036. Pulaski is the women's prison in Hawkinsville. Park along the right-of-way on Upper River Road near the prison. Peaceful protest at Macon State Prison Saturday, November 28, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Macon State Prison, 2728 Hwy 49 South, Oglethorpe, GA 31068. Check the address before you set off: Macon State Prison isn't in the city of Macon. It's in Oglethorpe, in Macon County, about fifty miles southwest of the city. The date is the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. Park along the right-of-way on Highway 49 near the prison. Peaceful protest at Ware State Prison Saturday, December 19, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Ware State Prison, 3620 North Harris Road, Waycross, GA 31503. Park along the road's right-of-way outside the prison. Peaceful protest at Valdosta State Prison Saturday, January 30, 2027, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Valdosta State Prison, 3259 Val Tech Road, Valdosta, GA 31603. Park along the road's right-of-way outside the prison. ## What people are saying These come from public Facebook posts, mostly in the Ga. Prisons Exposed group. They are people's own accounts and views, and GPS has not verified them. **Violence during the lockdowns.** Many posts were about stabbings and deaths. A person who said they'd spoken with someone inside Dooly State Prison wrote that five people were stabbed in a gang-related fight and that no one was killed. Another post in the Ga. Prisons Exposed group reported five people stabbed and taken to the hospital at Valdosta State Prison: “Families deserve answers, and the public deserves transparency.” **Waiting on elected officials.** Several people in the Georgia Prison Reform Coalition group said families have called and emailed their state legislators about the lockdowns and deaths without hearing back. One wrote: “The people of Georgia deserve answers, not silence.” **Extortion.** Family members described loved ones being extorted and asked how to respond. One wrote in the Ga. Prisons Exposed group that it began after a transfer: “I’m afraid reaching out to prison will make it worse.” **Phone jamming.** Others urged families to push back on a federal move to allow cellphone jamming in prisons, saying it could block emergency calls. One suggested families check whether they lose signal in the prison parking lot during visits. ## Legislators are writing back Legislators replied 36 times this period to the letters advocates sent through the Advocacy Network. The letters are reaching real offices. ## Join the GPS Advocacy Network The Georgia General Assembly's 2027 session opens in January. The bills on prison conditions, parole and sentencing that will be taken up are being written now, and legislators answer to the voters in their own districts. More advocates means more letters arriving before the session starts. Sign up at [gps.press/join](https://gps.press/join/). It takes about two minutes. GPS finds your own state legislators, writes a personalized letter on a pressing prison issue each week, sends it to them, and sends you a copy of every letter. This period the network sent 1,040 letters to Georgia legislators, and 7 people joined. [Sign up at gps.press/join](https://gps.press/join/) If someone you know cares about a person inside, forward them this email and send them the link: gps.press/join. ## Articles published 6 articles published, and 5 Spanish editions. [Seconds to Kill, the Rest of Your Life to Pay: The Murder Charge in Zeary Davis's Death](https://gps.press/seconds-to-kill-the-rest-of-your-life-to-pay-the-murder-charge-in-zeary-daviss-death/) October 31. A grand jury has indicted a man on murder charges in a September 2024 death at Dooly State Prison. In five prison killings GPS has followed to a sentence, four men got life without parole and the fifth got life. [“There Was No Ordinary Day”: Rachelle Terry on Life Inside Pulaski State Prison](https://gps.press/there-was-no-ordinary-day-rachelle-terry-on-life-inside-pulaski-state-prison/) October 24. Eight questions about the dorms, medical care, staffing and classes at Pulaski, answered in her own words, alongside what the state's own records show. [A Woman Died of Tuberculosis at Pulaski State Prison. Families Had Been Warning for Ten Days.](https://gps.press/a-woman-died-of-tuberculosis-at-pulaski-state-prison-families-had-been-warning-for-ten-days/) October 23. What the state has said, what families report from McRae and Pulaski, and what GDC's own TB policy requires. [A Sentence That Isn't Supposed to Be a Death Sentence](https://gps.press/a-sentence-that-isnt-supposed-to-be-a-death-sentence/) October 23. A mother shares her daughter's fear of tuberculosis at McRae Women's Facility, where she says women are denied masks and testing. [“There Is No Good Time”: Georgia's Prisons Are in Crisis, and the State Won't Let People Earn Their Way Home](https://gps.press/there-is-no-good-time-georgias-prisons-are-in-crisis-and-the-state-wont-let-people-earn-their-way-home/) October 18. GDC says programs can shorten a sentence, while the Parole Board's handbook says Georgia has no good time. The piece lays out a law that would cut sentences in half for people who earn it. [Prison Phone Scams Are Adding Years to Georgia Sentences](https://gps.press/prison-phone-scams-are-adding-years-to-georgia-sentences/) October 17. Two men at Calhoun State Prison added 26 years and 8 months of federal time for a jury-duty phone scam, on top of their Georgia sentences. ## Letters and postal mailings this period 7 letters to officials and agencies. 3 went by mail and 6 by fax, with 2 sent both ways and counted once. All 3 mailed letters went certified. We put 234 firsthand stories from inside directly into Georgia legislators' hands this period, real accounts mailed as Tell My Story postcards. We also emailed 234 of these firsthand stories, each printed in full, to Georgia legislators and 23 to reporters. Have a story that belongs in a legislator's hands? Share it at [gps.press/tellmystory](https://gps.press/tellmystory). If you have a loved one inside, tell them they can share theirs too. ## Emails sent on your behalf We sent 1,047 emails this period. 1,040 were Advocacy Network letters to Georgia legislators, written for advocates and emailed to their own legislators. 7 were welcome emails to new members of the Advocacy Network. ## Open records requests 54 open records requests were made this period, to 8 different agencies or offices. ## Explore GPS Two corners of GPS worth a look: [Search gps.press](https://gps.press/find/) Ask a question in plain English, like “what is the habeas deadline,” and get the exact page and section that answers it, across everything GPS has published. It's free, needs no login, and works in English and Spanish. [gps.press/find](https://gps.press/find/) [Facility Intelligence Profiles](https://gps.press/intelligence/) A profile of each GDC facility: conditions, deaths in custody, leadership and documented incidents, drawn from GPS's records. [gps.press/intelligence](https://gps.press/intelligence/) The GPS Team, accountability@gps.press [Subscribe to GPS This Week](https://gps.press/newsletter/#signup)