Georgia accepted $82.2M in federal TIS grants and took on $40–50 billion in costs. Academic consensus: near-zero crime reduction. Here’s how advocates can use this research.
Georgia accepted $82M in federal TIS grants and incurred $40–50B in corrections costs — a 1:500 ratio — while academic consensus shows near-zero crime reduction from increased incarceration since 2000.
Georgia accepted $82.2M in federal TIS grants and incurred $40–50B in corrections costs — a 500-to-1 ratio. Academic consensus shows these laws produce near-zero crime reduction.
Georgia got $82M from the feds to lock people up longer. The total cost? Up to $50 billion. Research says it hasn’t made us safer.
Analysis of 257,000 GDC records shows that 37% of Georgia parolees were released within 12 months of their max-out date. Lifers now serve 31 years before release—up from 12.5 years in 1992. The system preserves the appearance of clemency while systematically denying meaningful early release.
GDC’s own data shows Georgia prisoners now serve 27% longer than a decade ago—not because of new laws, but because the Parole Board quietly curtailed releases. At $86.61 per day, this shadow sentencing system costs taxpayers over $1 billion annually.
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 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 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 harsh sentencing experiment failed to deter crime and fueled a deadly prison crisis. Here’s why the deterrence myth collapsed — and what actually works.