Georgia is building a $24 million 'hardened' 126-bed unit at Hays State Prison as part of a $600 million construction surge, despite a DOJ finding that the state's prisons violate the Constitution through gang control and deliberate indifference. The new fortress-style approach ignores root causes like chronic understaffing and malnutrition that fuel the violence officials …
California's rehabilitation-focused 'Prisneyland' model recorded one death and two use-of-force incidents at Valley State Prison, while Georgia's punishment-first system saw 333 deaths in 2024 alone, including over 100 homicides. The stark contrast highlights how California's $239 million investment in education and dignity produces safer outcomes than Georgia's $1.6 billion in new walls and isolation units. …
Georgia's Department of Corrections operates a two-tier markup scheme that extracts $47 million annually from families of 53,500 inmates, charging up to 1,800% above wholesale prices for basic necessities. When vendor costs decreased on 153 items in 2025, the state kept those savings while raising inmate prices, pocketing an additional $420,000 in profit. Key Facts …
Georgia operates the world's highest rate of correctional control at 881 per 100,000 residents—nearly 2.5 times the national average—while systematically extracting wealth from poor families through cash bail, fines, and fees practices operating at 20 times national averages. The state cycles 236,000 different people through jails annually, with 26 localities weaponizing their criminal justice systems …
A comprehensive analysis of nine countries reveals that childhood lead exposure from leaded gasoline drove the violent crime surge of the 1970s-1990s, explaining 30% of the U.S. crime decline. While policymakers blamed 'moral poverty' and imprisoned millions in a catastrophic misdiagnosis, the real cause was environmental poisoning that damaged developing brains. Key Facts 8 million …
A GPS investigation reveals the U.S. government knowingly allowed corporations to pump 8 million tons of lead into the environment for 70 years, causing permanent brain damage in children that manifested as crime 20 years later. Instead of acknowledging this environmental poisoning, policymakers blamed 'moral poverty' and imprisoned millions of victims through 'tough on crime' …
Georgia spent $40 billion on Truth in Sentencing laws that peer-reviewed research proves increase prison violence 15%, reduce rehabilitation 14%, and raise recidivism 8%. The policies, enacted after receiving $82 million in federal grants, have created what the DOJ calls ‘among the most severe constitutional violations’ nationwide while making communities less safe. Key Facts Princeton …