Georgia Families Can Force Prison Reform Through Supreme Court Precedent After Federal Withdrawal

FACILITY BREAKDOWN

What GPS Documented (Original Findings)

• Georgia prisons operate at 200-300% of original design capacity, with some facilities housing triple their intended population — Source: GPS analysis of original construction documents and current GDC population data
• Approximately 70% of attorneys in the DOJ Civil Rights Division have left since January 2025 — Source: NPR Report on DOJ Civil Rights Division Exodus
• Trump administration dropped civil rights lawsuits against South Carolina and Louisiana in July 2025 — Source: ProPublica Report on Dropped Prison Lawsuits
• In June 2024, GDC reported only 6 deaths while DOJ records showed at least 18 homicides — Source: The Appeal Report on Death Misclassification

Data source: GPS analysis of GDC facility data, original construction documents, and federal reports

What DOJ Already Confirmed

• 142 homicides in Georgia prisons between 2018-2023, with 35 in 2023 alone — Pages DOJ Investigation Report
• At Macon State Prison, nearly two-thirds of correctional officer positions were vacant as of October 2024 — Pages DOJ Investigation Report
• GDC currently has approximately 2,600 open positions out of 10,919 total employee capacity — Pages DOJ Investigation Report
• Gangs control prison operations including housing assignments and contraband distribution — Pages DOJ Investigation Report
• Rampant sexual abuse with failure to protect LGBTI prisoners — Pages DOJ Investigation Report

Source: DOJ Investigation of Georgia Prisons, October 1, 2024
https://www.justice.gov/crt/case-document/file/1615516/dl

RECORDS JOURNALISTS SHOULD REQUEST

Georgia Open Records Act:

1. "Original architectural plans and construction specifications for Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison (1970)"
   Original design capacity and infrastructure specifications
   Agency: Georgia Department of Corrections
   Date range: 1970-1975
   Expected response: 3-5 business days; fee quote likely for large requests
2. "Original architectural plans and construction specifications for Ware State Prison (1990)"
   Original design capacity and infrastructure specifications
   Agency: Georgia Department of Corrections
   Date range: 1990-1995
   Expected response: 3-5 business days; fee quote likely for large requests
3. "Monthly death reports and incident classifications"
   Official cause of death classifications compared to DOJ homicide findings
   Agency: Georgia Department of Corrections
   Date range: 2018-2024
   Expected response: 3-5 business days; fee quote likely for large requests
4. "Records of emergency population reduction orders or declarations under Georgia Code § 42-5-55"
   Any use of statutory emergency release authority
   Agency: Georgia Department of Corrections
   Date range: 2000-2025
   Expected response: 3-5 business days; likely no fee for small request

Federal FOIA:

1. "DOJ Civil Rights Division staffing records and departure documentation"
   Agency: DOJ Civil Rights Division
2. "Records of dropped civil rights lawsuits against state prison systems"
   Agency: DOJ Civil Rights Division

SOURCES AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW

Families (contact via media@gps.press):

• Families of homicide victims in Georgia prisons — Various facilities (2018-2024)

Incarcerated Witnesses:

• Incarcerated witnesses to overcrowding and violence, anonymous, background only
  "Available upon request"
  GPS can facilitate secure communication.

Experts:

• Available upon request, Prison reform organizations — Brown v. Plata litigation strategy and prison conditions

OFFICIALS WHO SHOULD BE ASKED FOR COMMENT

* None have been asked for on-record comment by major media outlets.

QUESTIONS GDC HAS NOT ANSWERED

1. Why do facilities continue operating at 200-300% of design capacity?
2. How can constitutional medical care be provided with infrastructure sized for half the current population?
3. Why has emergency release authority under Georgia Code § 42-5-55 not been used despite the overcrowding crisis?

GPS submitted these questions via Not yet asked on Not yet asked . Status: Not yet asked

STORY ANGLES

Local:

Focus on families in specific counties who lost loved ones to prison violence and could join class-action litigation

Policy:

Examine why Georgia has emergency release authority but refuses to use it despite spending $1.2 billion annually on corrections

Accountability:

Investigate why Governor Kemp and Commissioner Oliver allow facilities to operate at triple capacity despite federal findings

Data:

Analyze the 46,000 prisoner reduction California achieved under Brown v. Plata compared to Georgia's current overcrowding crisis

QUOTABLES

"A prison that deprives prisoners of basic sustenance, including adequate medical care, is incompatible with the concept of human dignity and has no place in civilized society."

— Justice Anthony Kennedy, Brown v. Plata (2011)

"People do not surrender their civil or constitutional rights at the jailhouse door."

— Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, October 1, 2024

"Unlike California at the time of Plata, Georgia already possesses statutory emergency release authority. The constitutional failure lies not in the absence of tools, but in the refusal to use them."

— GPS analysis

SOURCE DOCUMENTS

• DOJ Investigation of Georgia Prisons (PDF)
  https://www.justice.gov/crt/case-document/file/1615516/dl
• Brown v. Plata Supreme Court Decision (PDF)
  https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-1233.pdf
• Georgia Code § 42-5-55 (Webpage)
  https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2010/title-42/chapter-5/article-2/42-5-55/

GPS Full Investigation:
https://gps.press/brown-v-plata-a-legal-roadmap-for-georgias-prison-crisis/