Thread: Georgia prisons have descended into total COVID-19 related chaos. They have always been horrific, but since the onset of the pandemic, conditions have deteriorated to the point of serious constitutional crisis. Yesterday, @southerncenter asked the DOJ to intervene. 1/

Riots have erupted at multiple prisons. In the last 3 months, there have been large-scale riots at Ware & Macon State Prison. The disturbances occurred after incarcerated people were left locked in their cells, nearly 24/7, for weeks/months, often in reprehensible conditions. 2/

At Ware State Prison, local police were called into the prison. These officers, along with the GDC's tactical squads, reportedly went from dorm to dorm deploying tear gas & smoke bombs while shooting people with pepper ball guns and flash grenades. 3/

Homicides have reached unprecedented levels. Since January 1, 2020, 21 people have been killed in the Georgia prison system, with six of these homicides occurring at Macon State Prison over the course of just six months. These numbers are really, really horrifying. 4/

Suicides in Georgia prisons have also reached unprecedented levels; the result of extreme neglect of people with psychiatric disabilities. In the last 8 months, at least 19 incarcerated people have died by suicide, which is a rate twice the national average in state prisons. 5/

(About 30% of suicides in the GDC since the beginning of the year have occurred at Georgia State Prison, a prison that purportedly specializes in the housing and care of people with serious mental illness. Purportedly.) 6/

Understaffing in Georgia prisons has ALSO reached a crisis point. As of June, there was an officer vacancy rate of nearly 30%. Macon State Prison has an officer vacancy rate of 46.8%. Georgia State Prison has an officer vacancy rate of just over 50%. 7/

SCHR has REPEATEDLY brought these issues to the GDC's attention, and they have failed to respond in any meaningful way, jeopardizing the lives of incarcerated people and prison staff and resulting in widespread suffering and death. 8/

The Georgia Department of Corrections has wholly and utterly failed every single Georgian. Not just those locked in cages. All of us. The Georgia Board of Pardons & Paroles has also failed us. Georgians -- get MAD. Your taxes fund this torture.

Btw, Georgians — you can build solidarity with the folks experiencing these horrific conditions by joining @GAfreedomltrs and finding someone to write to inside! http://www.georgiafreedomletters.com 

And here is a copy of @southerncenter's letter to the DOJ:

https://www.schr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2020.09.14-Ltr-to-DOJ-Re-Conditions-in-Georgia-Prisons-wo-Exhibits.pdf