Justice Department finds Georgia is ‘deliberately indifferent’ to unchecked abuses at its prisons

Georgia prison officials are "deliberately indifferent" to unchecked deadly violence, widespread drug use, extortion and sexual abuse at state lockups, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday, threatening to sue the state if it doesn’t quickly take steps to curb rampant violations of prisoners’ Eighth Amendment protections against cruel punishment.

Allegations of violence and chaos laid out in a stark 93-page report are the result of a statewide civil rights investigation into Georgia prisons announced in September 2021. At the time, federal officials cited particular concern about stabbings, beatings and other violence in a system where an estimated 50,000 people are incarcerated.

"The leadership of the Georgia Department of Corrections has lost control of its facilities," Ryan Buchanan U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, said during a Tuesday news conference about the findings. He described a system in which inmate gangs have "co-opted" administrative functions, including bed assignments.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke did not discuss possible legal action during the news conference in Atlanta. She said the Justice Department looked forward to working with Georgia officials to address the myriad problems.

"We understand they are reviewing our findings report," said Clarke, who oversees the Justice Department’s civil rights division. "And we are we are focused on, addressing the unconstitutional conditions inside these prisons. People do not surrender their civil or constitutional rights at the jailhouse door."

"Grossly inadequate staffing" is part of the reason violence and other abuse flourishes uncontrolled, and sometimes unreported or uninvestigated, the report said, saying the state appears "deliberately indifferent" to the risk faced by people incarcerated in its prisons.

"The state has created a chaotic and dangerous environment," said Clarke "The violence is pervasive and endemic."

Multiple allegations of sexual abuse are recounted in the report, including abuse of LGBTQ inmates. A transgender woman reported being sexually assaulted at knifepoint. Another inmate said he was "extorted for money" and sexually abused after six people entered his cell.

"In March 2021, a man from Georgia State Prison who had to be hospitalized due to physical injuries and food deprivation reported his cellmate had been sexually assaulting and raping him over time," the report said.

Homicide behind bars is also a danger. The report said there were five homicides at four different prisons in just one month in 2023.

The number of homicides among prisoners has grown over the years — from seven in 2017 to 35 in 2023, the report said.

Included in the report are 13 pages of recommended short-and long-term measures the state should take. The report concludes with a warning that legal action was likely. The document said the Attorney General may file a lawsuit to correct the problems, and could also intervene in any related, existing private suits in 15 days.

"Certainly, severe staffing shortages are one critical part of the problem here," Clarke said. "We set forth in our report minimal remedial measures that include adding supervision and staffing, fixing the classification and housing system, and correcting deficiencies when it comes to reporting and investigations."

The Georgia Department of Corrections "is committed to the safety of all of the offenders in its custody and denies that it has engaged in a pattern or practice of violating their civil rights or failing to protect them from harm due to violence," Corrections spokeswoman Lori Benoit said in an email in 2021, when the investigation was announced. "This commitment includes the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) prisoners from sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and sexual assault."

At the time the investigation was announced three years ago, assistant Attorney General Clarke said the investigation would focus on "harm to prisoners resulting from prisoner-on-prisoner violence."

GEORGIA STATE PRISON STORIES

• Man killed in Georgia prison laid there for hours before guards came, autopsy suggests
• Officers nowhere to be found during recorded brutal stabbing attack on Georgia State Prison inmate
• Man accused of smuggling drugs into multiple Georgia prisons with paper
• Footballs full of tobacco seized near Baldwin State Prison
• Justice Department launches civil rights investigation into Georgia prisons

The Justice Department’s investigation was prompted by an extensive review of publicly available data and other information, Clarke said in 2021. Among factors considered, she said, were concerns raised by citizens, family members of people in prison and civil rights groups, as well as photos and videos that have leaked out of the state’s prisons that have "highlighted widespread contraband weapons and open gang activity in the prisons."

FULL PRESS CONFERENCE ON JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FINDINGS

Georgia Department of Corrections responds

A spokesperson from the Georgia Department of Corrections has issued the following public response to the DOJ's findings:

"The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) is extremely disappointed to learn today of the decision by the Department of Justice to issue a Notice Letter leveling a variety of accusations against our prison system.  The Notice Letter fails to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of our staff – from corrections officers to nurses to vocational trainers – who have dedicated themselves to the care and rehabilitation of the inmates in our prison system.  The Notice Letter also ignores many of the successful initiatives undertaken to improve conditions inside our prisons for our staff and our inmates.  

 "Contrary to DOJ’s allegations, the State of Georgia’s prison system operates in a manner exceeding the requirements of the United States Constitution.  In short, the Notice Letter focuses on the challenges faced by prison systems across our country – correctional staffing, violence perpetuated by inmates, and unlawful gang activity.   These issues also plague the Federal Bureau of Prisons – DOJ’s own prison system.  Hence, DOJ’s findings today reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the current challenges of operating any prison system.

 "The GDC fully cooperated with DOJ’s investigation and will continue to do so as we begin discussions with DOJ over next steps.  As history demonstrates, DOJ’s track record in prison oversight is poor – often entangling systems in years of expensive and unproductive court monitoring.   As merely one example, court monitoring instigated by DOJ at Riker’s Island remains on-going after eight years, despite the fact that New York City employs one jail officer for every inmate at Riker’s Island.  

 "Finally, we want to thank all of the men and women who dedicate themselves to our criminal justice system, especially as we recover from the devastation brought by Hurricane Helene.  We will continue to support them in our mission of maintaining the safety of our communities across Georgia."