Georgia Keeps Buying Cell Locks. Its Prisons Keep Using Padlocks.

Georgia enacted $120,129,485 for prison lock work since 2025. A state inspector still found padlocks on cell doors at Washington State Prison. https://gps.press/georgia-keeps-buying-cell-locks-its-prisons-keep-using-padlocks/

Georgia has spent more than a decade and tens of millions of dollars replacing prison cell locks. In the amended budget this year, lawmakers set aside $84,596,895 for one line: "design and construction to replace locking controls, statewide." Across the last two budgets, that total reaches $120,129,485. The locks still don't hold. A state fire marshal's inspection at Washington State Prison found padlocks on cell doors in four housing units, cited as a means-of-egress violation. At Dooly State Prison, men say the old deadbolts remain in use beside the $8.8 million in new electric locks. GDC Commissioner Tyrone Oliver was asked on WSB-TV whether inmates can beat the locks the state has now. He answered: "Yes." If the money keeps going out and the padlocks keep going on, what is Georgia actually buying?

Georgia set aside $84,596,895 this year alone to replace locking controls statewide. A state fire marshal's inspection at Washington State Prison still found padlocks on cell doors in four housing units. At Dooly State Prison, men say the old deadbolts are still in use beside $8.8 million in new locks. Asked whether inmates can beat the locks the state has now, GDC Commissioner Tyrone Oliver answered: "Yes." #GeorgiaPrisons #GDC #PrisonAccountability #InvestigativeJournalism #Georgia

Georgia's budget and procurement records show more than a decade of spending on prison locking controls, including $84,596,895 enacted this year for "design and construction to replace locking controls, statewide" and $120,129,485 across the last two budgets for lock design, construction and repair crews. Yet a September state fire marshal's inspection at Washington State Prison found padlocks on cell doors in four housing units, cited as a means-of-egress violation. The pattern repeats across facilities. At Dooly State Prison, a $8,813,000 locking-control contract was awarded in 2023; men held there say the old deadbolts remain in use alongside the new electric locks. The U.S. Department of Justice concluded in October 2024 that locks "likely will remain an issue, even after being 'hardened' or replaced, because GDC does not have sufficient security staff." For policymakers, the question is whether continued capital spending without staffing and maintenance reform can produce a different result.