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Federal judge's order highlights repeated failures and problems in Georgia's 'harshest' prison

The judge found continual violations of an injunction the Department of Corrections agreed to back in 2019, and now, he’s forcing the department to pay the price.

Lars Lonnroth

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Published: 7:24 PM EDT April 24, 2024
Updated: 7:24 PM EDT April 24, 2024

The Georgia Department of Corrections is tasked with correcting the behavior of the criminals it holds behind its prison walls. However, according to a federal judge, the GDC couldn’t correct its own conduct and bring it in line with the constitution.

That assessment stems from a 2019 federal injunction ordering sweeping reforms in the GDC’s highest-level correction facility: the Special Management Unit in Jackson. 

The SMU holds the system’s worst offenders, but according to the order, the facility was called by a psychologist “one of the harshest and most draconian” solitary confinement facilities in the U.S.

“As a group, they have done nothing to earn sympathy,” the order read. “They are, however, entitled to certain minimal conditions of confinement.”   

In the 100-page order issued Friday, the Georgia Department of Corrections was held in contempt of court, with Chief U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell determining they didn't follow the injunction they agreed to five years ago. 

“During the initial three-year term of the injunction, the defendants violated every requirement of the Court’s injunction,” the order said. “The defendants asked the Court to extend the term for 18 months to give them a second chance. The court agreed.”

Even then, the GDC "routinely breached their obligations... even when the fix is easy," Treadwell notes. 

The order of contempt outlines the department's repeated failure to document, correct and comply with the injunction, which Treadwell notes was “in place to correct constitutional violations.” 

However, Treadwell also claimed the GDC was not being honest or making a good faith effort to follow the terms of the agreement.

“As the end of the injunction’s term neared, it became clear to the Court that the defendants, in effect, were running a four-corner offense and had no desire or intention to comply with the Court’s injunction,” Treadwell wrote. “The court can no longer tolerate the defendants’ misconduct.”

In an email, the GDC offered only this as a statement: “We will not be commenting on legal matters.”

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