Parole Reform

Mass Incarceration Was Not an Accident

Mass incarceration was not a response to crime—it was a political project. From the War on Drugs to Iran–Contra, the federal government made deliberate choices that devastated communities. Georgia inherited this framework and intensified it. This is the history we must confront.

Georgia’s 2026 Candidates on Prison and Parole Reform

Georgia voters will choose a new Governor and Lieutenant Governor in 2026 amid a prison crisis. GPS surveyed candidates on parole reform, prison conditions, and sentencing policy. Only two candidates—Jake Olinger and Josh McLaurin—have detailed positions. Here’s what we found.

Georgia’s $40 Billion Mistake: How Bad Science and Federal Bribes Created a Constitutional Crisis

Georgia prison facility with statistics overlay showing 100 homicides and $40 billion spent

Georgia spent $40 billion on Truth in Sentencing laws that academic research proves make prisons deadlier and increase crime. The policies—rooted in the discredited “superpredator” myth and response to lead poisoning the government allowed for 70 years—created what the DOJ calls “among the most severe constitutional violations” nationwide. One hundred homicides occurred in Georgia prisons in 2024 alone. California and Mississippi reformed similar laws and achieved better safety outcomes at lower cost. The evidence for reform is overwhelming. The question is whether Georgia will act.

Normalization: The Principle That Changes Everything

Georgia’s prisons aren’t broken—they’re illegal. Learn how the normalization model can end unconstitutional punishment and rebuild safety, dignity, and justice.

Georgia’s prisons aren’t “broken” — they’re illegal.

The Constitution says the punishment is the loss of liberty, not starvation, violence, neglect, or death.
Yet every day, Georgia piles on punishments no judge ever ordered.

Every other developed nation treats prison as a place for rehabilitation.
Georgia treats it as a dumping ground for suffering.

Normalization is how we realign Georgia with the law, with humanity, and with public safety.

Georgia now faces a choice:
continue running prisons that violate the Constitution, or adopt the normalization model that every safe, sane society already follows.

One path breeds violence.
The other creates redemption.
Only one is legal.

Why Georgia Must Create a Liberty Interest in Parole

Georgia’s parole system is broken because people have no enforceable right to release — even when they do everything asked of them. Creating a liberty interest in parole would finally bring fairness, transparency, and real hope to thousands of families across our state.

Georgia Prison Security Levels

The Georgia Department of Corrections’ own numbers show how medium-security prisons are now functioning like high-security facilities. This table—based on October 27, 2025 data—exposes systemic classification drift that’s fueling Georgia’s deadly prison crisis.

The Price of Staying Close: Families Pay the Cost of a Broken System

Across Georgia, families are going broke just to keep their loved ones alive and connected behind bars. From elderly grandparents skipping meals to mothers living on disability, the human cost of Georgia’s prison economy runs far deeper than commissary prices or phone bills. These are the voices of those paying The Price of Staying Close.