medical care

The Cure Exists: A 41-Year-Old Died of Hepatitis C in a Georgia Prison

An amber prescription bottle stands in warm morning light on a pale surface, with several white oval tablets spilled beside it — direct-acting antivirals, the medication that cures hepatitis C.

Torrey Wayne Forrester died at 41 in a Georgia prison of cirrhosis caused by chronic hepatitis C — a disease curable since 2014. The Justice Department found Georgia treating roughly ten percent of the people it knew were infected. Georgia’s own profile shows it has not tested more than half the people in its custody.