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