MACON, Ga. — On Dec. 9, a Putnam County inmate was stabbed to death at Macon's Central State Prison. The mother of Leon Kelly, Saranne Williams, says her son was left bleeding until help arrived.
Kelly was killed at the prison while serving a 10-year prison sentence for the distribution of meth out of Putnam County, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.
Photos are what Williams says she now has to look at to remember her son.
"This hasn't only broken my heart, it's broken my mind," Williams said. "My life will never be the same never."
The Georgia Department of Corrections said Kelly was stabbed to death after an altercation with another inmate. Williams says that same day she received a call from another inmate saying her son was dead.
She made several calls to the prison, and they confirmed it.
"They revived him after 15 minutes. If they had been looking at the 9 million cameras they supposedly have in there that are the guards instead of a human being - why did it take 15 minutes? If they could have responded in five, he might be alive," Williams said.
She says her son was a loving person and was left alone to bleed out.
"He wasn't something you sweep up under the rug and forget about - he's been my baby boy for 47 years, and he should have been here for 47 more," Williams said.
Kelly's death is one of many inside state prisons this year.
In October, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a report claiming Georgia's Department of Corrections failed to keep inmates safe from harm. They say the murder rate is three times higher than the rest of the national average in U.S. prisons.
Williams says something needs to be done about the state's prison system because no mother deserves to feel that pain.
"I don't want nobody else to go through this. It's not right, it's not fair and Governor Kemp needs to do something," Williams said.
Williams says she hopes to get justice for her son and for other mothers going through the same thing.
The Georgia Department of Corrections says Kelly was eligible for release in 2033. His death is being investigated by their office of professional standards.