WASHINGTON – A report from the Justice Department, released on Tuesday, claims that the Georgia Department of Corrections holds inmates in “horrific and unsafe conditions,” breaching the Constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

The investigation found that the state is “deliberately indifferent” to the dangers faced by nearly 50,000 incarcerated individuals. The reported violations, which the state has been aware of for years without taking corrective action, stem from issues such as inadequate staffing, the physical state of the facilities, gang management, and the control of weapons and contraband.

“Our findings reveal the terrible and inhumane conditions within Georgia’s prison system,” stated Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, who leads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Inmates face assaults, sexual violence, and killings, being trapped in an environment marked by severe understaffing. Too often, they are injured or mistreated, living in fear, squalor, and neglect.”

Clarke expressed hope that federal officials would quickly collaborate with state officials to address the identified constitutional deficiencies. However, state representatives rejected the claims, insisting that constitutional violations do not exist and highlighting that staffing issues and violence are common challenges across prison systems.

Joan Heath, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Corrections, conveyed the state’s “extreme disappointment” regarding the federal allegations. She stated that staffing, violence, and gang activity are challenges faced by all correctional facilities, including those operated by the federal government.

“The Georgia prison system operates well within the boundaries set by the U.S. Constitution, contradicting DOJ’s claims,” Heath asserted. “This indicates a significant misunderstanding of the current issues encountered in managing any prison operation.”

Heath stated that Georgia’s prisons would work with federal authorities, but criticized the Justice Department’s history in prison oversight, mentioning their eight-year monitoring of Riker’s Island in New York, where there was one guard for each inmate.

The report documented numerous serious incidents that exemplify ongoing “systemic violence and turmoil” within the prisons. In December 2023, there were five homicides across four facilities, along with other grave events, including several inmate fatalities following altercations, and one inmate at Central State Prison died of cardiac arrest after being stabbed, treated, and subsequently returned to prison.

From 2018 to 2023, 142 inmates lost their lives in Georgia prisons, leading to a homicide rate that is three times higher than the national average during the same timeframe.

In April 2023, two violent assaults occurred at Smith State Prison, one of which resulted in a fatality. On April 5, an inmate was found dead, suspected of being strangled by their cellmate. The local coroner noted that the body showed significant decomposition, indicating the inmate had likely been deceased for over two days.

Instances of sexual violence are also pervasive, as the report highlighted 635 sexual abuse allegations in 2022, 639 in 2021, and 702 in 2020.

One harrowing incident from August 2020 involved an inmate at Phillips State Prison being held captive and tortured for four days, suffering a stabbing that pierced an eye and resulted in a traumatic brain injury, as detailed in the report.

“Inmates of the Georgia Department of Corrections should not endure life-threatening violence and severe hardships while serving their sentences,” stated U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia.