# Three Deaths; Three Days; Macon State Prison > Three men were reported killed at Macon State Prison from October 21 to 23. GDC has acknowledged one of them, Juld Carter. A week later it locked down more than two dozen prisons, Macon among them, and described a fight at Hays where nobody died. Here's what the state has said, and what people inside describe. **Published**: 2026-11-02 **Source**: https://gps.press/three-deaths-three-days-macon-state-prison/ **Author**: Justice Reed --- At about two o'clock in the morning, Juld Carter was asleep in his cell at Macon State Prison when three men came in to rob him. That is how reports sent to GPS from inside the prison describe the start of it. They wanted his soups, his cookies and his honey buns. The reports say no officer was watching the dorm. The cell doors there don't lock, the reports say. On Thursday, October 22, the Georgia Department of Corrections told reporters Carter, forty-seven, had died the day before at the prison in Oglethorpe. It said it was investigating the death as a homicide. It said the cause was still undetermined [WGXA report on the death of Juld Carter](https://wgxa.tv/news/local/inmate-serving-life-for-toombs-county-murder-found-dead-homicide-investigation-ongoing-juld-carter-macon-state-prison-oglethorpe-wednesday-active-ongoing-georgia-department-of-corrections-professional-standards-available-gbi-crime-labe-body-determine-off). Two more men were killed over the next two days, people inside the prison say. GDC has said nothing about either of them in public. Eight days after the first death, GDC locked down more than two dozen prisons across Georgia. Macon State Prison made the list. The incident the department described was a fight at a different prison. Three men were hurt there. Nobody died. ## What the State Has Said On Thursday, October 22, Lori Benoit confirmed Juld Carter's death. Benoit is GDC's deputy director of communications. The cause is undetermined. His body went to the county coroner, then on to the GBI Crime Lab. GDC's Office of Professional Standards is investigating, which the department called standard procedure. GDC released nothing about how he died, citing the investigation [41NBC report on the Macon State Prison homicide investigation](https://www.41nbc.com/macon-state-prison-inmate-death-homicide-investigation/). That is what the department's public statements come to for Carter: a few lines. That is the whole public record of his death so far. The night of October 22, a young man named Veasna Bun was killed, the reports from inside the prison say. The [GPS death registry](https://gps.press/georgia-prison-deaths/record/veasna-johnathan-bun-2026-10-22/) lists him as Veasna Johnathan Bun, who died at Macon State Prison on or about October 22. For the second man, there's no statement at all. GDC hasn't said that he died, or how. For the third man, there's no name. According to reports from inside, another man was killed on October 23. Who he was, GPS doesn't know. The [GPS death registry](https://gps.press/georgia-prison-deaths/record/john-doe-macon-state-prison-2026-10-23/) lists him as an unnamed man who died at Macon State Prison on October 23. If you knew him, or you know what happened at Macon State Prison that week, [Submit a Report](https://gps.press/submit-a-report/) is how you reach GPS. Your name can stay with you. ## What People Inside Describe On October 22, GPS received its first report from inside about Carter's death. Multiple reports followed. None of them gives a date for the attack. Here is what they describe. - He woke up and fought. He hit one of the men hard enough to draw blood. - The three men overpowered him. Because he'd made one of them bleed, the reports say, they tortured him. - They stabbed him and cut an artery. The bleeding wouldn't stop. - Men in the dorm wanted to help, but nobody called for help. Everyone knew that whoever spoke up would be next. - He bled to death in his cell. The reports describe the noon count this way. > At the noon count, an officer walked up to his cell. Someone standing at the door said he was on the toilet, and the officer just walked away. At about three or four o'clock the next morning, he was found. According to the reports, that's more than twenty-four hours after he was stabbed. In that time, the reports say, the men cleaned the cell. They set a fire and burned everything with blood on it. Nobody stopped it, because nobody was there. After he was found, the reports say, staff went through the dorm and checked the men for wounds. One man left in handcuffs. The reports say he came back to that same dorm, to live among the men who had seen what happened. The reports also say the cameras there don't work. Early on October 22, an ambulance left the prison, according to the reports. The same reports place investigators at the prison that day, and the GBI is among them. The reports say other prisoners told prison officials about the body. The officials didn't find it on their own checks. In some housing units, officers weren't properly doing the morning and evening checks on the men in their care, the reports say. ## What GPS Asked For On October 25, GPS sent GDC's Office of Professional Standards what the reports describe. GDC has said that office is investigating Carter's death. GPS asked GDC to keep six kinds of records: - Camera footage of the dorm hallway and the area outside Carter's cell, from the night he was stabbed until he was found - Count sheets and officer round logs for those hours, including the noon count - The report on the fire set in his cell - Maintenance records and work orders on the dorm's cell doors - Medical's wound-check records, and the record of the man taken out in handcuffs and brought back - Staffing rosters showing which officers, if any, were assigned to watch the dorm At that office, the same day, an inspector wrote back. > I will pass your information on to the Criminal investigation Divisions Special Agents investigating the case. Also, I will make sure GDC General Counsel has your preservation request regarding records and video. On October 25, GDC was told to keep the footage, the logs and the rosters. Its lawyers would have the request, GDC said. On October 22, GPS asked Macon County Coroner Eddie T. Hosley for Carter's death certificate and GBI medical examiner case number. On October 25 it asked him for the same records for Bun and the unnamed man. GPS is waiting on those records. ## The Lockdown On Wednesday, October 29, GDC announced a lockdown at more than two dozen prisons and facilities. Lori Benoit gave a statement to WJCL. > Out of an abundance of caution, the facilities will remain on lockdown until further notice, with security threat assessments conducted intermittently as investigations are ongoing. The department cited increased "Security Threat Group" activity, its term for gangs [WJCL report on the statewide prison lockdown](https://www.wjcl.com/article/statewide-georgia-prisons-lockdown/74277226). It didn't name a group in that statement. It didn't describe an incident. On Tuesday, at Hays State Prison in Chattooga County, GDC said a gang-related fight broke out. The department said it was contained to two dorms. Three men were hurt, went to a hospital with injuries that weren't life-threatening, and were back at the prison. GDC called the lockdown a precaution against retaliation [Patch report on the lockdown of 27 Georgia prisons](https://patch.com/georgia/across-ga/27-prisons-locked-down-after-gang-dispute-injures-3-ga-inmates). Three men were hurt at Hays. All three are back at the prison. That's the incident GDC described. Three men were dead at Macon the week before, by the accounts of people inside. As WJCL and Patch reported them, none of GDC's statements mentions Macon's dead. People inside say the killings put Macon on lockdown before the statewide order. According to those reports, the facility was still locked down on October 28, the day before GDC's announcement. ## Macon's Record Since January 1, 2020, GPS has recorded at least 93 deaths at Macon State Prison in its [death registry](https://gps.press/facility/macon-state-prison/). The count includes the three in October. GPS codes 36 of those 93 as homicides. GDC reports deaths about two months late, so the newest months are never complete. On February 9, Eric Roberts died at Macon. Until October 21, his was the only homicide the registry listed at the prison this year. The same registry records at least eight homicides at Macon in 2025 and at least nine in 2024. The reports from inside describe: - Cell doors that don't lock - Cameras that don't work - Housing units with no working heat as winter comes - No extra blankets handed out - Roof exhaust fans that don't run GPS has reported before that [Georgia keeps buying cell locks while its prisons use padlocks](https://gps.press/georgia-keeps-buying-cell-locks-its-prisons-keep-using-padlocks/). GDC hasn't released a statement about Veasna Bun. No cause, no date. The third man doesn't have a name in any public record. On the record GDC gave for the lockdown that reached Macon, the department described a fight at Hays. Nobody died in it. --- ## Call to Action: What You Can Do Awareness without action changes nothing. Here's how you can help push for accountability and real reform: **Join the GPS Advocacy Network**: Sign up at [https://gps.press/become-an-advocate/](https://gps.press/become-an-advocate/) and we'll advocate on your behalf every week. GPS identifies your state legislators, crafts personalized letters on the most pressing prison issues, and sends them directly to the representatives who represent you. You receive a copy of every letter. It takes two minutes to sign up, and we handle the rest. **Send a 60-Second Message**: Pick an issue, get a ready-to-edit message with the verified facts already in it, and email your state House representative and senator directly from your own inbox at [https://gps.press/send-a-message/.](https://gps.press/send-a-message/.) No signup, nothing stored. It takes about a minute. **Tell My Story**: Are you or a loved one affected by Georgia's prison system? GPS publishes first-person accounts from incarcerated people and their families. Submit your story at [https://gps.press/tellmystory](https://gps.press/tellmystory) and help the world understand what's really happening behind the walls. **Contact Your Representatives**: Your state legislators control GDC's budget, oversight, and the laws that created these failures. Find your Georgia legislators at [https://gps.press/find-your-legislator/](https://gps.press/find-your-legislator/) or call Governor Kemp at (404) 656-1776 or the GDC Commissioner at (478) 992-5246. **Demand Media Coverage**: Contact newsrooms at the AJC, local TV stations, and national criminal justice outlets. More coverage means more pressure. **Amplify on Social Media**: Share this article and tag @GovKemp, @GDC_Georgia, and your local representatives. Use #GAPrisons, #PrisonReform, #GeorgiaPrisonerSpeak. **Message the Board of Corrections**: The citizen board that oversees the GDC publishes no contact details for its members. GPS built the missing front door: pick a board member and a policy message and send it from your own email at [https://gps.press/write-the-board/.](https://gps.press/write-the-board/.) **File Public Records Requests**: Georgia's Open Records Act gives every citizen the right to request incident reports, death records, staffing data, medical logs, and financial documents. Start with the GPS Action Toolkits at [https://gps.press/toolkits/.](https://gps.press/toolkits/.) The Open Records Toolkit walks you through what to ask for, gives you ready-to-file request templates, and tells you what to do when the state says no. File directly with GDC at [https://georgiadcor.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/SupportHome.aspx.](https://georgiadcor.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/SupportHome.aspx.) **Attend Public Meetings**: The Georgia Board of Corrections and legislative committees hold public meetings. Your presence is noticed. **Contact the Department of Justice**: File civil rights complaints at [https://civilrights.justice.gov.](https://civilrights.justice.gov.) Federal oversight has forced abusive systems to change before. **Support Organizations Doing This Work**: Donate to or volunteer with Georgia-based prison reform groups fighting for change on the ground. **Vote**: Research candidates' positions on criminal justice. Primary elections often determine outcomes in Georgia. **Contact GPS**: If you have information about conditions inside Georgia's prisons, reach us securely at GPS.press. --- ## Further Reading **["Contained to One Dorm": The Squad Left Wilcox at Noon. The Coroner Was Called at Two.](https://gps.press/contained-to-one-dorm-the-squad-left-wilcox-at-noon-the-coroner-was-called-at-two/)** *A killing at Wilcox State Prison read against GDC's own words and clock times.* **[Georgia Keeps Buying Cell Locks. Its Prisons Keep Using Padlocks.](https://gps.press/georgia-keeps-buying-cell-locks-its-prisons-keep-using-padlocks/)** *What the state has spent on cell doors and locks, and what people inside still find on them.* **[The Empty Column: Georgia Won't Say How Prisoners Die](https://gps.press/the-empty-column-georgia-wont-say-how-prisoners-die/)** *Why so many deaths in Georgia's prisons have no published cause.* **[At Least Nineteen: The Murders the State Didn't Prosecute](https://gps.press/at-least-nineteen-the-murders-the-state-didnt-prosecute/)** *Homicides inside Georgia's prisons that never reached a courtroom.* **[The Warden Shall Notify: Who Georgia's Prisons Keep in the Dark, and the Law That Lets Them](https://gps.press/the-warden-shall-notify-who-georgias-prisons-keep-in-the-dark-and-the-law-that-lets-them/)** *Who the state has to tell when someone dies in its custody, and who it doesn't.* --- ## GPS Intelligence System The GPS Intelligence System maintains living research profiles that aggregate data, news, settlements, and analysis on Georgia's prisons and the issues defining them. The profiles below provide deeper context for the issues raised in this article: **[Macon State Prison Intelligence Profile](https://gps.press/intelligence/facility/macon-state-prison/)** *Deaths, staffing, conditions and the public record for Macon State Prison in one place.* **[Violence in Georgia's Prisons](https://gps.press/intelligence/issue/violence/)** *How violence inside Georgia's prisons is recorded, reported and left unreported.* --- ## Explore the Data GPS makes GDC statistics accessible to the public through several resources: - **[GPS Statistics Portal](https://gps.press/gdc-statistics/)**: Interactive dashboards translating complex GDC reports into accessible formats, updated within days of official releases. - **[GPS Lighthouse AI](https://gps.press/ask-ai/)**: Ask questions about Georgia's prison system and get answers drawn from GPS's investigative archive and data analysis. - **[GPS llms.txt](https://gps.press/llms.txt)**: A single machine-readable index of every GPS data resource, published using the open llms.txt standard. Point any AI tool (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity) at this URL and the model can navigate to facility profiles, intelligence briefs, mortality records, statistics, and the full investigative archive, with no other configuration needed. It is the fastest way to ground an AI conversation in verified GPS data. - **[GPS Public MCP Server](https://data.gps.press/mcp)**: For AI tools that support the Model Context Protocol (Claude, ChatGPT, and others), connect directly to GPS's data: read-only tools covering population, facilities, mortality, parole, the Georgia Code, settlements, and more. Every answer arrives with its source link and citation built in. For a walkthrough of how to put these resources to work with AI, see **[How to Use GPS Data with AI Tools](https://gps.press/how-to-use-gps-data-with-ai-tools/)**: a step-by-step guide for researchers, advocates, families, and journalists analyzing Georgia prison conditions, statistics, and policy with tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Contact GPS at media@gps.press for access to underlying datasets used in this analysis. --- ## About Georgia Prisoners' Speak (GPS) Georgia Prisoners' Speak (GPS) is a nonprofit investigative newsroom built in partnership with incarcerated reporters, families, advocates, and data analysts. Operating independently from the Georgia Department of Corrections, GPS documents the truth the state refuses to acknowledge: extreme violence, fatal medical neglect, gang-controlled dorms, collapsed staffing, fraudulent reporting practices, and unconstitutional conditions across Georgia's prisons. Through confidential reporting channels, secure communication, evidence verification, public-records requests, legislative research, and professional investigative standards, GPS provides the transparency the system lacks. Our mission is to expose abuses, protect incarcerated people, support families, and push Georgia toward meaningful reform based on human rights, evidence, and public accountability. Every article is part of a larger fight: to end the silence, reveal the truth, and demand justice. ![Georgia Prisoners' Speak: Accountability. Dignity. Reform.](https://gps.press/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/mcp-pathimport-e8aeb81a03c8.jpg) ---