prison reform Archives

They Knew: Empty Posts, Broken Locks, and Georgia’s Deadliest Prison Week

Aerial satellite view of Washington State Prison in Washington County, Georgia.

Four dead. Five officers for 69 posts. Zero incident reports filed. A coroner who claims no knowledge of deaths he confirmed to media. Open records expose what Georgia tried to hide about the January 2026 Washington State Prison riot.

$700 Million More—And Nothing to Show for It

$700 Million spent, only body bags to show

Georgia added $700 million to its corrections budget between FY 2022 and FY 2026—the fastest spending growth in agency history. Prison homicides rose from 8 annually to 100 in 2024. Staffing remains 50-76% vacant. The DOJ found healthcare unconstitutional. The money bought nothing.

Cruel and Unusual Dentistry: Inside Georgia’s Prison Dental Crisis

Georgia doesn’t treat dental disease in prison.
It removes teeth.

Extraction replaces fillings. Waiting lists replace care. Commissary replaces basic supplies. And the damage follows people home long after their sentence ends.

This is healthcare as punishment.

Federal Nutrition Guidelines vs. Georgia Prison Food Reality

New federal nutrition guidelines officially warn against ultra-processed foods. Georgia’s prisons still serve inadequate meals while commissaries profit from junk food sales. When will the state follow the science?

Brown v. Plata: A Legal Roadmap for Georgia’s Prison Crisis

The Supreme Court’s Brown v. Plata decision forced California to release 46,000 prisoners due to unconstitutional overcrowding. With federal enforcement abandoned, Georgia families must now pursue private litigation using the same legal roadmap.

Amathia: The Moral Failure Behind Georgia’s Prison Crisis

The ancient Greeks called it amathia—willful ignorance, a moral failure. Governor Kemp commissioned reports documenting Georgia’s prison crisis. One year later: staffing at a fifteen-year low, population at a fifteen-year high, and over 100 homicides. The evidence exists. Leadership refuses to see.

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.

The Human Cost of Georgia’s Prison Extortion

Georgia families are spending hundreds each month on commissary, phone calls, and visitation just to keep their loved ones alive. These firsthand testimonies reveal the hidden human cost of Georgia’s predatory prison economy.

Forced Criminality: Inside Georgia’s Prison Violence Factory

The DOJ documented 142 homicides in Georgia prisons from 2018-2023. GPS documented 100 homicides in 2024 alone—nearly triple the previous year.

This isn’t random violence. It’s the inevitable result of deliberate GDC policy:
→ Zero wages for prisoner labor
→ 1,200 calories/day (half what’s needed)
→ Ramen marked up 350% to $0.90
→ Ibuprofen marked up 1,076% to $4.00

The equation is impossible: You cannot earn money. The food provided cannot sustain life. The prices are unaffordable.

What would you do?

Kitchen workers steal food to survive. Prisoners make alcohol for $150/bottle. Gangs charge $0.90 for shower access. Underground “medics” treat stab wounds to hide violence from guards.

And GDC policy criminalizes ALL of it – even trading soup for clean laundry.

This is forced criminality: survival strategies the state makes mandatory, then punishes.

Read how Georgia’s zero-wage policy creates the violence it claims to address.