DOJ accuses Georgia prisons of “inhumane” and unconstitutional conditions

The U.S. Department of Justice accused prisons across Georgia of “inhumane” and unconstitutional conditions.

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice published a report on the current conditions of Georgia prisons saying that they “violate” the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment.

“Our findings report lays bare the horrific and inhumane conditions that people are confined to inside Georgia’s state prison system,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a press release. “Our statewide investigation exposes long-standing, systemic violations stemming from complete indifference and disregard to the safety and security of people Georgia holds in its prisons.”

“People are assaulted stabbed, raped and killed or left to languish inside facilities that are woefully understaffed. Inmates are maimed and tortured, relegated to an existence of fear, filth and not so benign neglect. These dangerous conditions not only harm the people Georgia incarcerates—it places prison employees and the broader community at risk,” Clarke added.

The report from the Department of Justice includes 93 pages, following an investigation into prisons across Georgia, including state-operated and private facilities. According to the Justice Department, Georgia currently holds the “fourth-highest state prison population in the country, with approximately 50,000 people incarcerated.”

The report found that prisons across Georgia violate prisoners’ constitutional rights by “failing to protect individuals housed in medium- and close-security facilities from widespread physical violence and subjecting incarcerated persons to unreasonable risk of harm from sexual abuse across its facilities.”

Additionally, the report found that Georgia prisons face understaffing and deficiencies in incident reporting, control of contraband, housing and investigations into violent incidents.

The report details several allegations of sexual abuse, including incidents involving LGBTQ+ inmates. One transgender woman reported being sexually assaulted at knifepoint, while another inmate recounted being “extorted for money” and sexually abused after six individuals forced their way into 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.

“Individuals incarcerated by the Georgia Department of Corrections should not be subjected to life threatening violence and other forms of severe deprivation while serving their prison terms,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia said in the press release.

“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 cooperatively with the Justice Department, our office and our U.S. Attorney partners in the Middle and Southern Districts to remedy these systemic deficiencies in Georgia prisons,” Buchanan added.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.

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