Federal investigation finds dire conditions in Georgia prisons

Georgia’s prison system is violating the constitutional rights of prisoners by failing to protect them from widespread violence, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

The agency released a 94-page report following a multi-year investigation that initially focused on whether the state adequately protected LGBT inmates from sexual abuse and expanded to include all prisoners incarcerated in medium- and maximum-security prisons.

“Our findings report exposes the horrific and inhumane conditions people are incarcerated in within Georgia’s state prison system,” Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said at a news conference in Atlanta.

“Our statewide investigation exposes long-standing, systemic violations that stem from complete indifference and disregard for the safety and security of people Georgia holds in its prisons. … The Department of Justice is committed to using its authority to establish humane conditions of confinement consistent with contemporary standards of decency and respect for human dignity.”

Georgia has the fourth-highest state prison population in the country, with nearly 50,000 inmates in 34 state prisons and four private prisons.

The report attributes widespread violence in the prison system to understaffing and systemic deficiencies in physical facilities, housing, contraband control, and incident reporting and investigation. It also concluded that gangs exert undue influence in prisons, including controlling entire housing units and carrying out unlawful and dangerous schemes within and from prisons.

Clarke said the report documents incidents of abuse, rape and murder in Georgia prisons, while inmates are relegated to fear, filth and neglect.

“Individuals incarcerated by the Georgia Department of Corrections should not be exposed to life-threatening violence and other forms of severe hardship while serving their prison sentences,” said Ryan Buchanan, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

“We expect the State of Georgia to share our sense of urgency about the seriousness of the violations described in this report and to work with the Department of Justice, our office and our U.S. Attorney partners in the Central and Southern Districts to remedy them . systemic deficiencies in Georgia prisons.”

The state has been trying to get a handle on conditions in Georgia’s prisons. The Department of Corrections hired a consultant in June to conduct a review of the state’s prisons, while both the Georgia House and Senate have formed study committees focused on prison conditions and considering funding recommendations aimed at improving of safety.

Georgia Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver told a Senate study committee in August that reduced staffing levels and aging infrastructure are contributing to an influx of contraband that is causing an increase in criminal activity in prisons.