# GPS This Week: October 24 to November 7, 2026 > ← All issuesLéelo en españolGreetings: Blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation. That is the cause a county coroner gave for the death of a 36-year-old man at Hancock State Prison in Sparta on… **Published**: 2026-11-08 **Source**: https://gps.press/newsletter/2026-11-08/ **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: Blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation. That is the cause a county coroner gave for the death of a 36-year-old man at Hancock State Prison in Sparta on October 30, after a fight with his cellmate. The GBI Crime Laboratory has ruled it a homicide. Former Georgia prison officers and supervisors now say on the record that they warned their bosses about the danger inside, got paperwork in return, and left. A federal judge found false records, and the state's payroll shows the departures. When four men fought at Hays State Prison, the Department of Corrections locked down more than two dozen prisons. As of its November 3 update, Dooly and Macon State Prisons were still on full lockdown, and some dorms at Smith, Valdosta and Wilcox State Prisons remained on restricted movement. | | | --- | | **6** articles · **528** advocate letters to legislators · **24** letters to officials · **31** open records requests · **9** new advocates | ## In the news Hancock State Prison death investigated as a homicide WGXA reported that a 36-year-old man held at Hancock State Prison in Sparta died on October 30 after a fight with his cellmate. The county coroner told the station the cause was blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation, and the GBI Crime Laboratory has ruled the death a homicide. [Read the story](https://gps.press/gps-news/hancock-state-prison-inmate-death-investigated-as-homicide-after-cellmate-altercation-wgxa/) More than two dozen prisons locked down after a fight at Hays CBS News reported that the Department of Corrections locked down more than two dozen prisons after a fight among four men at Hays State Prison that the Department described as gang-related. As of the Department's November 3 update, WSB-TV reported, Dooly and Macon State Prisons were still on full lockdown, and some dorms at Smith, Valdosta and Wilcox State Prisons were on restricted movement. [Read the story](https://gps.press/gps-news/2-georgia-state-prisons-still-on-lockdown-others-restricted-but/) Atlanta man freed after nearly 21 years on DNA evidence The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that an Atlanta man was released after nearly 21 years in prison when new DNA evidence proved his innocence, according to the Georgia Innocence Project, which worked with Fulton County's Conviction Integrity Unit. His release comes nearly a year after Georgia set up a system to compensate people who were wrongfully convicted. [Read the story](https://gps.press/gps-news/dna-evidence-helps-atlanta-man-go-free-after-two-decades-in-prison-the-atlanta-journal-constitution/) Woman held at Pulaski State Prison died of tuberculosis 13WMAZ reported that the Department of Corrections confirmed a woman held at McRae Women's Diagnostic Facility and then Pulaski State Prison died of complications from tuberculosis. She became acutely ill after her transfer to Pulaski and died in a hospital. [Read the story](https://gps.press/gps-news/georgia-prison-system-confirms-inmate-at-pulaski-mcrae-prisons-died-of-tuberculosis-13wmaz/) Breast cancer care for women in Georgia prisons Capital B Atlanta reported that Black women in Georgia prisons face delays and barriers in breast cancer screening and treatment. A woman who spent 20 years incarcerated told the outlet she waited six years for a biopsy. The Department of Corrections said its care meets community standards. [Read the story](https://gps.press/gps-news/black-women-in-georgia-prisons-struggle-to-get-breast-cancer-care/) ## New from GPS [Letters to ten Georgia prisons on how gang members are housed](https://gps.press/when-prison-staff-work-for-the-gangs/) GPS wrote to the warden and deputy wardens of security at ten state prisons, and to the Department of Corrections' leadership. The letters ask them to keep validated gang members out of dorms with men who aren't in a gang, to keep rival groups apart, and to put every exception in writing. They went to 16 officials by email on November 6 and by first-class mail on November 7, and 12 also went by fax. [Research: when Georgia prison staff can be charged for a killing they could have prevented](https://gps.press/research-library/criminal-liability-of-georgia-prison-staff-when-a-gang-member-they-housed-with-others-kills-someone/) A new GPS research collection sets out the state and federal crimes that can reach prison staff when a gang member they housed with others kills someone: reckless conduct, involuntary manslaughter, violation of oath, party to a crime, and federal civil rights law. Each comes with the Georgia prosecutions and federal cases behind it, and every entry quotes its source. No Advocacy Network letter this week, because of the election The weekly letters to Georgia legislators go out on Tuesdays. Tuesday, November 3 was Election Day, so GPS held this week's letter. Until now the letters had gone out every Tuesday since mid-September. [The GPS Briefing Room opens](https://gps.press/briefing-room/) GPS opened the Briefing Room: short video briefings on Georgia's prisons, made for legislators, their staff and reporters. Thirteen topics are up, from the prison budget and officer staffing to health care, deaths in custody, violence, parole, aging prisoners, food and what other states do. Each opens with a two-minute introduction. Then you can ask your own questions, by typing or by voice, and the spoken answers link to the source of every figure. A seven-minute brief on Georgia's four-year deadline for habeas corpus petitions followed on November 2. It sets out why the deadline should be repealed and why merit should decide which claims are heard. [Georgia's 2026 election results, with nominees' records on prison bills](https://gps.press/2026-election-results/) GPS posted results for the November 3 general election, in English and Spanish. It covers the statewide races, the Public Service Commission, the constitutional amendments and the General Assembly. For nominees who have served, it links how they voted on prison and justice bills. [What's on the tray, by GDC's own menu](https://gps.press/food/) GPS now posts the Department of Corrections' 28-day menu day by day at gps.press/food, with every meal and every portion from GDC's own recipe cards. 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 beside the menu for that prison and day. GDC's recipe card calls for a pound of raw chicken, bone in, for each leg quarter. We bought one at that weight, weighed it raw and after baking, and photographed it next to a supper served at Dooly State Prison. [Remembrances for people who died in Georgia prisons](https://gps.press/georgia-prison-deaths/) Families can now add a remembrance to the record of someone who died in a Georgia prison. They can write it in English or Spanish and include a photo if they want one. A person at GPS reads each remembrance before it appears. [Read the public records GPS holds](https://gps.press/records/) Court filings, records agencies released under the Open Records Act, and medical examiner findings GPS holds now appear on GPS's prison pages. Every request and released document can be read in full at gps.press/records, and Lighthouse can search them. [A letter to the warden of Washington State Prison, published in full](https://www.facebook.com/122174880848682160/posts/122187715988682160) GPS wrote 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. The letter asks who set the prison's $30 weekly store limit when Department policy sets $80. It asks whether the padlocks and slide bolts State Fire Marshal inspectors found on cell doors in September have been removed, and when the lockdown that began January 11 will end. It went by email and fax on October 30, and GPS published it so families can read exactly what was asked. [A briefing on the prisons in their district, sent to 68 Georgia legislators](https://gps.press/vision2027/) GPS emailed all 68 sitting legislators whose districts hold 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, staffing, kitchen inspections, lawsuits settled, contraband arrests the Department reported, and what the U.S. Justice Department's 2024 findings said about it. Every figure is dated and sourced. In the 2027 session GPS will 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. ## Upcoming events Worldwide Chain Breakers is holding a series of peaceful protests outside Georgia prisons, a different prison each time. Everyone is welcome: families, advocates, formerly incarcerated people, faith leaders and community members. GPS encourages you to go, and to bring a sign. Organizers are asking for safer living conditions, accountability and transparency, humane treatment, adequate medical care, meaningful rehabilitation, better communication and real reform. Their ground rules: stay in lawful public areas and off prison property, don't block roads, gates, entrances or emergency vehicles, don't confront or harass anyone, follow lawful instructions, and if someone tries to provoke an argument, don't engage. Peaceful protest at Pulaski State Prison Saturday, November 14 (next Saturday), 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Pulaski State Prison, 373 Upper River Road, Hawkinsville, GA 31036 Outside the women's prison in Hawkinsville. Park along the right-of-way on Upper River Road near the prison. If it gets crowded, the organizers will make other arrangements on the day. 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, so put 2728 Hwy 49 South, Oglethorpe into your directions. It's 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 are public Facebook posts and comments from the past two weeks, mostly in the Ga. Prisons Exposed group and on GPS's own posts. They are people's own accounts and views, which GPS has not verified. **Gang housing.** Many people commenting on GPS's post about the letters to wardens asked for the letters to go to more prisons, naming Coffee Correctional and Jenkins Correctional among others. Several asked GPS not to leave out the women's prisons. One commenter wrote: "Please send to the women's prisons in Georgia. Please stop leaving them out." Others argued that people who aren't in gangs should be housed separately for their own safety. **Life under lockdown.** People described what the lockdowns mean inside: no recreation, no gym, nothing to learn, and stress and panic attacks from being locked in all day. Family members asked each other whether they had heard from their loved ones. Several said the underlying problem is staffing. A member of the Ga. Prisons Exposed group wrote: "Without experienced, well-trained staff, the prisons will be locked down again soon whether it's in time for Thanksgiving or Christmas." **Parole and clemency.** Families described writing and calling the parole board and the clemency office and hearing nothing back. One wife described calling office after office to fix an error in her husband's parole file. A family member suggesting protests at the parole board building wrote: "Everything for them is done on paper or email with no response." **New state leaders.** After the November 3 election, people in several groups urged others to make appointments with the incoming statewide officials once they take office in January, and to press them on prison reform. ## Legislators are writing back Legislators replied 21 times this period to the letters advocates sent through the Advocacy Network. The letters are reaching real offices. ## Join the GPS Advocacy Network The GPS Advocacy Network writes to your Georgia legislators for you. Sign up at 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 that meant 528 letters to Georgia legislators, and 9 people joined. The Georgia General Assembly's 2027 session opens in January. The bills on prison conditions, parole and sentencing that lawmakers will take up are being written now, and legislators answer to the voters in their own districts. More advocates means more of those letters arrive before the session starts. [Sign up at gps.press/join](https://gps.press/join/) Forward this email to family and friends who care about someone inside, and send them the sign-up link: [gps.press/join](https://gps.press/join/). ## Articles published 6 articles published, and 6 Spanish editions. [They Told the People in Charge. Then They Left.](https://gps.press/they-told-the-people-in-charge-then-they-left/) November 5, 2026. Former Georgia prison officers, sergeants and supervisors say on the record that they warned their bosses, got paperwork in return, and left. A federal judge found false records, and the state's payroll shows the departures. [GPS Is Asking District Attorneys to Find Out What Prison Staff Knew](https://gps.press/gps-asks-district-attorneys-what-prison-staff-knew/) November 3, 2026. GPS is asking district attorneys to review every prison homicide for staff who were warned, and putting wardens on notice. [When Prison Staff Work for the Gangs](https://gps.press/when-prison-staff-work-for-the-gangs/) November 3, 2026. Before a killing at Dooly State Prison, the Commissioner had a written warning and prison supervisors had calls. Georgia law already has charges for staff who ignore a known danger. [Three Deaths; Three Days; Macon State Prison](https://gps.press/three-deaths-three-days-macon-state-prison/) November 2, 2026. Three men were reported killed at Macon State Prison from October 21 to 23, and GDC has acknowledged one. What the state has said, and what people inside describe. [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, 2026. A grand jury has returned a murder indictment 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, 2026. Eight questions about the dorms, medical care, staffing and classes at Pulaski, answered in her own words, beside what the state's records show. ## Letters and postal mailings this period 24 letters to officials and agencies (18 by email, 20 by fax, 20 by first-class mail; most went more than one way). 2 of the mailed letters went certified. ## Emails sent on your behalf 537 emails went out this period. 528 were Advocacy Network letters to Georgia legislators, sent on advocates' behalf. 9 were welcome emails to new members of the Advocacy Network. ## Open records requests 31 open records requests were made this period, to 6 different agencies or offices. ## Explore GPS Two corners of GPS worth a look: [Submit a Report](https://gps.press/submit-a-report/) Saw or lived through something inside a Georgia prison? Send it to GPS securely. Every report strengthens the record. [gps.press/submit-a-report](https://gps.press/submit-a-report/) [Tell My Story](https://gps.press/tellmystory) Firsthand accounts from people living inside Georgia prisons, in their own words. Read them, and share one if you have it. [gps.press/tellmystory](https://gps.press/tellmystory) The GPS Team, accountability@gps.press [Subscribe to GPS This Week](https://gps.press/newsletter/#signup)