GPS RESEARCH LIBRARY: Georgia's Tier System and STEP in the Press and the Courts ============================================================ Georgia Prisoners' Speak — gps.press Generated: 2026-10-06 12:30:03 EDT Research Date: 2026-10-04 Topic: Solitary Confinement / Restrictive Housing JSON: https://gps.press/research-data/georgias-tier-system-and-step-in-the-press-and-the-courts/?format=json SUMMARY ---------------------------------------- This collection sets out facts from public sources on the subject in its title, drawn from Georgia, federal sources, national and multi-state sources and other sources. Each entry gives a short statement, the exact passage from the source that supports it, and the source's title, web address and the date it was retrieved. Searches of a source that found no match are listed too, with the wordings that were tried. The entries record what each source said when it was retrieved. They aren't a complete account of the subject, and they don't add analysis or conclusions. POLICYS (3) ---------------------------------------- - [confirmed] GDC Tier Segregation System Implementation Date A GDC Facilities Division Fact Sheet states that GDC's Tier Segregation system was implemented in August 2013, as a stratification-oriented pathway for an offender to transition from Administrative Segregation to lower-security levels. Tags: solitary,policy,operations Sources: Facilities Division Fact Sheet, Georgia Department of Corrections - [confirmed] DOJ Recommendation on Restrictive Housing Review The DOJ report recommends that GDC 'Conduct a review of restrictive housing unit practices and remedy all noncompliance with GDC SOP 209.06 Administrative Segregation (effective February 19, 2021) and applicable legal standards including PREA' Tags: solitary,policy,legal Sources: DOJ Findings Report: Investigation of Georgia Prisons (October 2024) - [confirmed] Senate Study Committee Recommendation on Single-Cell Facilities On Friday, December 13, the Department of Corrections Facilities Senate Study Committee voted unanimously to adopt its final report, which recommended converting all existing facilities and constructing all new facilities to single-person, single-cell facilities. Tags: facilities,policy,operations Sources: Department of Corrections Facilities Senate Study Committee Adopts Final Committee Report, Georgia Senate Press Office, December 20, 2024 STATISTICS (8) ---------------------------------------- - [reported] SCHR: Over 70% of ~300 in GSP Tier II had serious mental illness The Southern Center for Human Rights reported that over 70 percent of the approximately 300 people held in Georgia State Prison's 'Tier II' solitary confinement program had serious mental illness. The figure was cited in connection with a federal lawsuit filed September 10 by SCHR and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, LLP on behalf of people in solitary confinement at GSP. Value: 70.0 percent Tags: solitary,mental_health,conditions,legal Sources: Georgia State Prison conditions lawsuit, SCHR - [reported] Approximately 300 people held in GSP Tier II program Approximately 300 people were held in Georgia State Prison's 'Tier II' solitary confinement program, according to the Southern Center for Human Rights' description of the population covered by its federal lawsuit. Value: 300.0 people Tags: solitary,conditions,demographics Sources: Georgia State Prison conditions lawsuit, SCHR - [reported] Guard Vacancy Rate at Georgia State Prison Prison Legal News reported that a complaint alleged a guard vacancy rate around 60% at Georgia State Prison contributed to understaffing, and that required cell checks were not performed. Value: 60.0 percent Tags: staffing,conditions,solitary Sources: Georgia Prisoner’s Challenge to “Deplorable” Conditions Survives Motion to Dismiss - [reported] Deaths in Tier II Program 2020-2021 Prison Legal News reported that five prisoners died in the Tier II program by suicide or homicide from 2020 to 2021. Value: 5.0 deaths Tags: death,solitary,mental_health Sources: Georgia Prisoner’s Challenge to “Deplorable” Conditions Survives Motion to Dismiss - [reported] Suicides at Georgia State Prison 2014-2018 Prison Legal News reported that 14 prisoners had committed suicide at Georgia State Prison between 2014 and 2018. Value: 14.0 suicides Tags: death,mental_health,solitary Sources: Georgia Prisoner’s Challenge to “Deplorable” Conditions Survives Motion to Dismiss - [reported] SMU Population Decrease After Reforms SCHR reported that the Special Management Unit population 'decreased significantly due to the recent reforms,' from 180 in October 2017 to about 100 at the time of the press release. Value: 100.0 people (vs. 180 October 2017 population) Tags: solitary,conditions,trend Sources: Georgia Prisoners Reach Settlement to Reform One of the “Harshest and Most Draconian” Solitary Confinement Units in the Nation – Southern Center for Human Rights – Equality. Dignity. Justice. - [reported] Tier Population as of October 2025 SCHR reported that as of October 2025, more than 2,100 people were housed in Georgia's 'tiers,' including almost 1,000 people in the long-term tiers, citing a GDC Tier Management Bed Report obtained via Open Records Act. Value: 2100.0 people (vs. 1000 long-term tier population) Tags: solitary,demographics,operations Sources: Georgia Calls It the Tier Program, People In Prison Call It Hell - [confirmed] Number of GDC Facilities with Tier Program A GDC press release states the Special Management Unit at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison is one of 10 GDC facilities that have a Tier Program. Value: 10.0 facilities Tags: facilities,solitary,operations Sources: Georgia Gideons Implement Tier Cell Ministry | Georgia Department of Corrections CASE DETAILS (6) ---------------------------------------- - [reported] Betty Bailey Dean assigned as Tier Segregation Manager/Coordinator GDC Commissioner Brian Owens announced the assignment of Betty Bailey Dean for Developmental Assignment in Facilities Operations effective September 1, 2013. On Developmental Assignment, Dean served as the Tier Segregation Manager/Coordinator. Date: 2013-09-01 Tags: policy,operations,staffing Sources: New Developmental Assignment in Facilities Operations | Georgia Department of Corrections - [reported] SCHR and Kilpatrick Townsend filed federal lawsuit over GSP solitary conditions On September 10, the Southern Center for Human Rights and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, LLP filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of people held in solitary confinement at Georgia State Prison (GSP), alleging deplorable conditions. Tags: solitary,legal,conditions,mental_health Sources: Georgia State Prison conditions lawsuit, SCHR - [reported] Khalid Mouton Held in Tier II at Georgia State Prison Prison Legal News reported that while incarcerated at Georgia State Prison from November 1, 2018 to January 7, 2021, Khalid Mouton was held in the Tier II program, described as segregation lasting '23 to 24 hours a day' Tags: solitary,conditions,legal Sources: Georgia Prisoner’s Challenge to “Deplorable” Conditions Survives Motion to Dismiss - [reported] Tier II Program Start Date at Georgia State Prison A letter published by sfbayview.com from Georgia State Prison prisoner Justin Sinclair Ashley stated that the prison 'began what is called the Administrative Segregation Tier II Program on July 16, 2014' Tags: solitary,conditions,operations Sources: Georgia DOC’s Tier II Program, extreme solitary confinement, is dehumanizing torture - [confirmed] Dr. Craig Haney Report on SMU Conditions Dr. Craig Haney's report, submitted to the court in 2018 by lawyers for prisoners, included images of prisoners with self-inflicted cuts, blood on the floor of one cell and the window of another, and descriptions of 'extraordinarily harsh' living conditions. Date: 2018-01-01 Tags: solitary,conditions,mental_health Sources: Georgia prison officials in 'flagrant' violation of solitary confinement reforms, judge says | FOX 5 Atlanta - [confirmed] Otis Stanton Promotion to Statewide Tier Segregation Manager GDC Commissioner Brian Owens announced the promotion of Otis Stanton as Statewide Tier Segregation Manager for Facilities Operations, effective January 1, 2015, responsible for the processing of Tier segregation appeals and training and oversight of the Tier Management System. Tags: staffing,solitary,operations Sources: New Statewide Tier Segregation Manager Named | Georgia Department of Corrections FINDINGS (7) ---------------------------------------- - [confirmed] Tier II Program Description by GDC Statewide Manager GDC Board of Corrections minutes record that Statewide Tier Segregation Manager Otis Stanton told the Board the Tier Segregation Management System 'is a facility-wide stratification plan that manages the institutional conduct and programmatic needs of the assigned population' Tags: solitary,policy,operations Sources: Board of Corrections, board meeting minutes october 2016 - [confirmed] GDC Description of Tier II Program SCHR quoted GDC's own description of its statewide solitary confinement program: 'The Tier II [P]rogram is a part of a comprehensive facility-wide stratification plan that will manage the institutional conduct and programmatic need of the assigned population' Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: solitary,policy Sources: Georgia Calls It the Tier Program, People In Prison Call It Hell - [reported] AJC headline: judge imposes fines, monitor on Georgia prison An AJC article is headlined 'Frustrated federal judge imposes fines, monitor on Georgia prison,' with the subheadline 'Prison officials accused of stalling, falsifying records in long-running lawsuit over conditions at high-security facility.' Tags: legal,solitary,conditions,corruption Sources: Frustrated federal judge imposes fines, monitor on Georgia prison - [confirmed] GDC Statement on Restrictive Housing Reforms The Georgia Department of Corrections said in a statement that it 'recognizes the national reforms surrounding restrictive housing, and we are actively engaged in moving forward with internal procedures that address these trends' Tags: policy,solitary,operations Sources: One of America's harshest isolation units was exposed by a desperate, handwritten account from the inside - [reported] Rick Jacobs identified as GA DOC Facilities Director overseeing Tier Step Down Program A Black Agenda Report commentary reported that Rick Jacobs, identified as the GA DOC Facilities Director, 'oversees the Tier Step Down Program.' Tags: policy,solitary,operations Sources: Call GA Governor, Prison Officials, Demand End to Deliberate Malnourishment & the "Tier Step Down" Program | Black Agenda Report - [confirmed] House Bill 714 Restrictive Housing Provisions GDC Board of Corrections minutes record that House Bill 714, which did not pass, would have prohibited consecutive periods in restrictive housing and no more than 90 days total in restrictive housing per year unless the offender is a danger to himself/herself, others, or the security of the facility. Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: legal,solitary,policy Sources: Board of Corrections, board meeting minutes may 2019 - [confirmed] Judge Treadwell Statement on GDC Truthfulness Judge Marc T. Treadwell wrote in an August order, 'The Court has long passed the point where it can assume that even sworn statements from the defendants are truthful' Tags: legal,corruption,solitary Sources: Georgia prison system engages in deception as crisis builds, Atlanta Journal-Constitution LEGAL FACTS (10) ---------------------------------------- - [reported] Judge Treadwell's 100-page contempt order: officials 'obstinately disobedient' A 100-page contempt order by Chief U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell found that GDC officials at the Special Management Unit were 'obstinately disobedient, making no real effort to affect change,' and quoted the court's own passage that defendants 'were running a four-corner offense and had no desire or intention to comply.' Tags: legal,solitary,conditions,corruption Sources: In a scathing order, federal judge finds Georgia prison officials in contempt of their own promises | Georgia Public Broadcasting - [reported] Fee order: defendants purged contempt; monitor Gary Mohr credited A later fee order in the SMU case states that the court found the defendants had purged themselves of their contemptuous misconduct, and credits 'the guiding hand of court-appointed monitor Gary Mohr (and hefty daily contempt fines)' with fixing or beginning to fix most problems in the SMU. The parties' settlement agreement also required defendants to pay the plaintiffs' attorneys' fees and expenses. Tags: legal,solitary,conditions,budget Sources: Ricardo Daughtry, et al. v. Shawn Emmons, et al. – CourtListener.com - [reported] Fee order: SMU problems fixed after 'years of defiance and prevarication' The fee order credits 'court-appointed monitor Gary Mohr (and hefty daily contempt fines)' with the defendants having 'either fixed or were in the process of fixing most problems in the SMU' after 'years of defiance and prevarication.' Tags: legal,solitary,conditions Sources: Ricardo Daughtry, et al. v. Shawn Emmons, et al. – CourtListener.com - [confirmed] GDC Consent Decree and Contempt Finding The DOJ's October 2024 findings report on Georgia prisons states that since 2019 GDC has been subject to a consent decree in a civil rights class action challenging conditions of confinement in the Special Management Unit, and that in April 2024 the court overseeing the consent decree held GDC in contempt for failing to comply with court orders and imposed monetary sanctions until GDC comes into compliance. Tags: legal,solitary,conditions Sources: DOJ Findings Report: Investigation of Georgia Prisons (October 2024) - [confirmed] DOJ Footnote 81 Citation for Contempt Order The DOJ report's footnote 81 cites the 'Revised Contempt Order, Doc. No. 485, Daughtry v. Emmons, et al., No. 5:15-cv-41-MTT (M.D. Ga. Apr. 23, 2024)' as the source for GDC being held in contempt over Special Management Unit conditions. Tags: legal,solitary Sources: DOJ Findings Report: Investigation of Georgia Prisons (October 2024) - [confirmed] DOJ Definition of Segregation The DOJ report defines 'Segregation' as referring generally to any practice or program that involves (1) removal from the general population, whether voluntary or involuntary; (2) placement in a locked room or cell, whether alone or with another incarcerated person; and (3) the inability to leave the room or cell for most of the day, typically 22 hours or more. Tags: solitary,legal,policy Sources: DOJ Findings Report: Investigation of Georgia Prisons (October 2024) - [confirmed] Judge Treadwell Contempt Finding Against GDC An Associated Press report states that U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell held Georgia Department of Corrections officials in contempt, threatening them with fines and ordering an independent monitor to ensure compliance with the settlement agreement for the Special Management Unit, after finding they showed 'no desire or intention' to make required changes to solitary confinement practices. Tags: legal,solitary,conditions Sources: Georgia prison officials in 'flagrant' violation of solitary confinement reforms, judge says | FOX 5 Atlanta - [confirmed] 2019 Settlement Agreement Requirements The 2019 settlement agreement the court approved required prison officials to allow SMU prisoners out of their cells at least four hours each weekday and give them access to educational programming and materials. Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: legal,solitary,policy Sources: Georgia prison officials in 'flagrant' violation of solitary confinement reforms, judge says | FOX 5 Atlanta - [confirmed] Judge Treadwell Finding on Cell Time and Classroom Hours In his order, Treadwell said the plaintiffs presented 'overwhelming evidence' that inmates remained in their cells between 22 and 24 hours a day and did not receive the required minimum of at least two hours a week of classroom time. Tags: legal,solitary,conditions Sources: Georgia prison officials in 'flagrant' violation of solitary confinement reforms, judge says | FOX 5 Atlanta - [confirmed] SMU Quarterly Review Panel for Long-Term Detainees The proposed Georgia SMU settlement agreement provides that in cases that meet narrowly defined circumstances resulting in prisoners being held in the unit longer than two years, a panel of senior security, legal and mental health professionals will conduct a quarterly review. Tags: legal,solitary,mental_health Sources: Georgia agrees to improve solitary confinement conditions METHODOLOGY NOTES (1) ---------------------------------------- - [confirmed] NBC News Article Publication Date The NBC News article on Georgia's Special Management Unit solitary confinement, which quotes GDC's statement that it 'recognizes the national reforms surrounding restrictive housing,' was published Feb. 19, 2019. Tags: solitary,conditions Sources: One of America's harshest isolation units was exposed by a desperate, handwritten account from the inside DATA GAPS (2) ---------------------------------------- - [confirmed] No match for segregation/solitary terms in Georgia Senate press release on DOC study committee A search of the Georgia Senate Press Office page 'Department of Corrections Facilities Senate Study Committee Adopts Final Committee Report' for the terms 'segregation,' 'solitary confinement,' and 'restrictive housing' returned no match. Tags: solitary,policy,legal Sources: Department of Corrections Facilities Senate Study Committee Adopts Final Committee Report, Georgia Senate Press Office, December 20, 2024 - [confirmed] No match for Tier III/STEP terms in DOJ Georgia Prisons Investigation Findings A search of the DOJ 'Georgia Prisons Investigation Findings' document for the terms 'Tier III,' 'segregation,' 'Special Management Unit,' 'step-down,' and 'STEP program' returned no match. Tags: solitary,investigations,legal Sources: Georgia Prisons Investigation Findings DATASETS (1) ---------------------------------------- # Georgia Tier Population October 2025 Breakdown of Georgia tier population as of October 2025 Category Population ----------------------------------- Total tier population 2100 Long-term tiers 1000 KEY ENTITIES (27) ---------------------------------------- - Atteeyah Hollie [person]: Deputy Director of the Southern Center for Human Rights, testified before committee on conditions in GDC facilities - Balfour Beatty [organization]: Construction company awarded approximately $320 million for new Georgia prison construction in 2023. - Betty Bailey Dean [person]: GDC official assigned as Tier Segregation Manager/Coordinator on Developmental Assignment in Facilities Operations effective September 1, 2013. - Brian Owens [person]: Vice Chairman of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles for FY2019. Appointed to the Parole Board on February 1, 2015 by Governor Nathan Deal. Former Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Corrections. (aka: Brian Owens, Vice Chairman) - Craig Haney [person]: Professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Leading national expert on psychological effects of solitary confinement. Conducted inspection of Georgia's SMU for Gumm v. Jacobs litigation and described it as 'one of the harshest and most draconian' in the nation. (aka: Dr. Craig Haney) - Daughtry v. Emmons [case]: Class action challenging solitary confinement conditions in GDCP Special Management Unit. Filed 2015 pro se by Timothy Gumm; December 2018 settlement; April 2024 contempt order with $2,500/day fines. (aka: Gumm v. Jacobs, Gumm v. Jacobs / Daughtry v. Emmons, Case No. 5:15-cv-00041-MTT-CHW) - Department of Corrections Facilities Senate Study Committee [organization]: Georgia Senate committee that adopted final report in December 2024 recommending single-cell facilities. - Gary Mohr [person]: Court-appointed monitor credited in a later fee order with fixing or beginning to fix most problems in the Special Management Unit. - GDC SOP 209.06 Administrative Segregation [organization]: GDC standard operating procedure for administrative segregation effective February 19, 2021. - Georgia Department of Corrections [organization]: State agency responsible for operating Georgia's prison system. Subject of federal DOJ investigation in 2022-2023 for constitutional violations including food-related deaths. (aka: GDC) - Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison [facility]: Georgia state prison from which David 'Toro' Zavala operated drug trafficking while serving time for armed robbery. - Georgia State Prison [facility]: Georgia state prison where Chad Ashley Allen, serving a life sentence for murder, operated drug trafficking enterprise with Ghost Face Gangsters. - House Bill 714 [legislation]: Proposed Georgia legislation that would have limited restrictive housing to 90 days per year and prohibited consecutive periods; did not pass. (aka: HB 714) - Jackson Diagnostic [facility]: Georgia diagnostic facility whose Special Management Unit was harshly assessed by solitary confinement expert Dr. Craig Haney in 2015. - Justin Sinclair Ashley [person]: Georgia State Prison prisoner whose letter described the start of Tier II Program on July 16, 2014. - Khalid Mouton [person]: Prisoner held in Tier II program at Georgia State Prison from 2018-2021 who filed complaint challenging conditions. - Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, LLP [organization]: Law firm that co-filed the federal lawsuit with SCHR on behalf of people in solitary confinement at Georgia State Prison. - Marc Treadwell [person]: Federal judge who issued April 2024 contempt order finding GDC officials repeatedly falsified documents and made false statements. (aka: Judge Marc Treadwell, Federal Judge Treadwell) - Otis Stanton [person]: Statewide Tier Segregation Manager who presented a Tier Recidivism Update to the Board of Corrections in October 2016. - Randy Robertson [person]: Georgia State Senator, District 29, Chairman of the SR 570 Study Committee (aka: Senator Robertson) - Rick Jacobs [person]: Field Services Director of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles in FY17. - Southern Center for Human Rights [organization]: Legal advocacy organization that investigated food conditions at Gordon County Jail and sent a formal letter to Sheriff Mitch Ralston in October 2014. (aka: SCHR) - Special Management Unit [facility]: Georgia's primary long-term solitary confinement unit, located at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson. Subject of Gumm v. Jacobs litigation and described by experts as 'one of the harshest and most draconian' in the nation. (aka: SMU) - Tier II [program]: Long-term administrative segregation with no outer time limit, five-hour-per-week out-of-cell floor, and no single-occupancy requirement. (aka: Administrative Segregation - Tier II, Tier II Program) - Tier II Program [program]: A GDC offender management and stratification program governed by SOP 209.08, which GDC characterizes as 'not a punishment measure' but which the discipline SOP (209.01) designates as the placement for disciplinary isolation exceeding 30 days. - Tier Segregation Program [program]: GDC segregation program referenced in the September 2013 press release through the assignment of a Tier Segregation Manager/Coordinator. (aka: Tier Segregation, Tier System) - Tier Step Down Program [program]: GDC program overseen by Facilities Director Rick Jacobs, referenced in advocacy commentary demanding an end to 'deliberate malnourishment.' (aka: STEP program) SOURCES (23) ---------------------------------------- - Board of Corrections, board meeting minutes may 2019, Georgia Board of Corrections (2019-01-01) [official_report, primary] URL: https://gdc.georgia.gov/document/board-meeting-minutes/board-meeting-minutes-may-2019/download - Board of Corrections, board meeting minutes october 2016, Georgia Department of Corrections Board of Corrections (2016-01-01) [official_report, primary] URL: https://gdc.georgia.gov/document/board-meeting-minutes/board-meeting-minutes-october-2016/download - Call GA Governor, Prison Officials, Demand End to Deliberate Malnourishment & the "Tier Step Down" Program | Black Agenda Report, Black Agenda Report [journalism, tertiary] URL: https://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php/end-tier-step-down - Department of Corrections Facilities Senate Study Committee Adopts Final Committee Report, Georgia Senate Press Office, December 20, 2024, Georgia Senate Press Office (2024-12-20) [press_release, primary] URL: https://senatepress.net/department-of-corrections-facilities-senate-study-committee-adopts-final-committee-report.html - DOJ Findings Report: Investigation of Georgia Prisons (October 2024), U.S. Department of Justice (2024-10-01) [official_report, primary] URL: https://www.justice.gov/d9/2024-09/findings_report_-_investigation_of_georgia_prisons.pdf - Facilities Division Fact Sheet, Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia Department of Corrections by Georgia Department of Corrections (2024-01-01) [official_report, primary] URL: https://gdc.georgia.gov/document/fact-sheets/facilities-division-fact-sheet/download - Frustrated federal judge imposes fines, monitor on Georgia prison, Atlanta Journal-Constitution [journalism, secondary] URL: https://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-news/frustrated-federal-judge-imposes-fines-monitor-on-georgia-prison/AO4ZYISBXBCLLO3F3EYN3EZEAQ/ - Georgia agrees to improve solitary confinement conditions, WRDW News (2019-01-01) [journalism, secondary] URL: https://www.wrdw.com/content/news/Georgia-agrees-to-improve-solitary-confinement-conditions-504133251.html - Georgia Calls It the Tier Program, People In Prison Call It Hell, Southern Center for Human Rights (Substack) (2025-01-01) [journalism, secondary] URL: https://thesoutherncenter.substack.com/p/georgia-calls-it-the-tier-program - Georgia DOC’s Tier II Program, extreme solitary confinement, is dehumanizing torture, San Francisco Bay View (2015-01-01) [journalism, secondary] URL: https://sfbayview.com/2015/11/georgia-docs-tier-ii-program-extreme-solitary-confinement-is-dehumanizing-torture/ - Georgia Gideons Implement Tier Cell Ministry | Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia Department of Corrections [press_release, primary] URL: https://gdc.georgia.gov/press-releases/2016-12-30/georgia-gideons-implement-tier-cell-ministry - Georgia prison officials in 'flagrant' violation of solitary confinement reforms, judge says | FOX 5 Atlanta, FOX 5 Atlanta / Associated Press (2024-01-01) [journalism, secondary] URL: https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/georgia-prison-officials-in-flagrant-violation-of-solitary-confinement-reforms-judge-says - Georgia prison system engages in deception as crisis builds, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Journal-Constitution [journalism, secondary] URL: https://www.ajc.com/news/investigations/georgia-prison-officials-have-repeatedly-presented-false-or-misleading-information-to-federal-investigators-state-lawmakers-and-a-federal-judge/H76M74I6L5F5DKXEYSSZEQSLGY/ - Georgia Prisoner’s Challenge to “Deplorable” Conditions Survives Motion to Dismiss, Prison Legal News [journalism, secondary] URL: https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2024/jun/1/georgia-prisoners-challenge-deplorable-conditions-survives-motion-dismiss/ - Georgia Prisoners Reach Settlement to Reform One of the “Harshest and Most Draconian” Solitary Confinement Units in the Nation – Southern Center for Human Rights – Equality. Dignity. Justice., Southern Center for Human Rights (2019-01-01) [press_release, primary] URL: https://www.schr.org/georgia-prisoners-reach-settlement-to-reform-one-of-the-harshest-and-most-draconian-solitary-confinement-units-in-the-nation/ - Georgia Prisons Investigation Findings, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division [official_report, primary] URL: https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1371456/dl - Georgia State Prison conditions lawsuit, SCHR, Southern Center for Human Rights (2021-09-01) [legal_document, primary] URL: https://www.schr.org/lawsuit-challenges-inhuman-conditions-of-confinement-at-georgia-state-prison/ - Georgia’s prison crisis is no accident – Scalawag, Scalawag Magazine [journalism, secondary] URL: https://scalawagmagazine.org/2025/10/georgias-prison-crisis-is-no-accident/ - In a scathing order, federal judge finds Georgia prison officials in contempt of their own promises | Georgia Public Broadcasting, Georgia Public Broadcasting (2024-01-01) [journalism, secondary] URL: https://www.gpb.org/news/2024/04/23/in-scathing-order-federal-judge-finds-georgia-prison-officials-in-contempt-of-their - New Developmental Assignment in Facilities Operations | Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia Department of Corrections (2013-09-19) [press_release, primary] URL: https://gdc.georgia.gov/press-releases/2013-09-19/new-developmental-assignment-facilities-operations - New Statewide Tier Segregation Manager Named | Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia Department of Corrections [press_release, primary] URL: https://gdc.georgia.gov/press-releases/2014-12-31/new-statewide-tier-segregation-manager-named - One of America's harshest isolation units was exposed by a desperate, handwritten account from the inside, NBC News [journalism, secondary] URL: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/one-america-s-harshest-isolation-units-was-exposed-desperate-handwritten-n969531 - Ricardo Daughtry, et al. v. Shawn Emmons, et al. – CourtListener.com, CourtListener [legal_document, primary] URL: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10704856/ricardo-daughtry-et-al-v-shawn-emmons-et-al/