Independent Research

GPS Research Library

In-depth research on every major issue inside Georgia’s prison system — written in plain language for families, advocates, and anyone who wants to understand what’s happening behind the walls.

36
Research Collections
987
Sources Cited
3,345
Verified Data Points
1,054
Named Entities
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By the Numbers

The most striking findings from across our research — each linked to its source.

Federal judge: GDC repeatedly falsified documents
4.1
Prison deaths per 100K jumped 46% in five years
33%
1 in 3 families goes into debt for prison communications
$0.90
15-min call cost dropped from $11.35 to $0.90 under FCC rules
30,000
Superpredator predictions: 30,000 murderers by 2000
83%
Georgia prison commissary markups reach 1,150% above retail
$2B
U.S. prison workers produce $2 billion in goods yearly
$18.8M
Georgia extracted $18.76 million in commissary profit in 2024
3.5x
Black defendants 3.5x more likely wrongly convicted
52.5%
52.5% of Georgia prison guard positions sit empty
2.7x
Black Georgians locked up at 2.7x the rate of white residents

Figures drawn from GPS research collections. Some numbers originate from GDC self-reported data and may undercount the true scale.

Go Deeper into the Data

The research above is just the starting point. Here’s how to explore further.

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Ask Lighthouse AI

Have a specific question? Ask GPS Lighthouse AI and it will search the full Research Library, mortality database, policy library, statistics, and more — then give you a sourced answer in seconds.

Open Lighthouse AI →
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GPS Data & Statistics

Explore raw numbers: prison population, mortality data, facility profiles, parole statistics, budget analysis, and 34 years of offense data across 304 categories.

View Statistics →
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Use GPS Data with Any AI

All GPS research is available as machine-readable data pages. Paste them into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any AI tool and ask questions. Our guide shows you how.

Read the Guide →

About the Research Library

The GPS Research Library is a structured, citation-backed knowledge base covering every major issue in Georgia’s prison system. We extract, verify, and organize the most critical facts from hundreds of sources — DOJ reports, state budget documents, academic studies, court filings, investigative journalism, and our own original research.

Every data point is tagged by type, linked to its original source, and assigned a confidence level. The result is a research infrastructure that powers GPS articles, our AI tools, and the collection pages listed above. Each collection page includes pre-written explainer articles tailored for different audiences: families & the public, legislators, media, and advocates.

For additional resources, visit the Resources page, the GDC Policy Library (561 SOPs, 195 Board Rules), or the Mortality Database tracking 1,757 deaths in GDC custody.

The Research Library exists because accountability requires evidence, and evidence requires structure. Scattered data is easy to ignore. A verified, cross-referenced knowledge base built from hundreds of primary sources is not.

Built for Accountability. Open to Everyone.

Whether you’re a family member looking for answers, a journalist investigating conditions, or an advocate pushing for change — the GPS Research Library gives you the verified facts you need.

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