ATLANTA (CN) — The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday announced a sweeping investigation into reports of poor living conditions and inmate-on-inmate violence inside Georgia prisons.
The probe will determine whether the state provides prisoners with reasonable protection from physical harm at the hands of their fellow inmates.
There have been 44 apparent homicides in Georgia prisons since the start of 2020.
“Under the Eighth Amendment of our Constitution, those who have been convicted of crimes and sentenced to serve time in prisons must never be subjected to cruel and unusual punishments,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said during a press conference held via Zoom Tuesday. “We must ensure the inherent human dignity and worth of everyone, including people who are incarcerated.”
Clarke said that the department also plans to continue its existing investigation into the sexual abuse of gay, lesbian and transgender prisoners by other prisoners and by staff. The investigation, which was opened in 2016, was the first DOJ inquiry to focus on LGBTQ inmates.
She pointed out that extreme staffing shortages aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic and a high turnover rate among correctional officers are persistent problems in Georgia. Understaffing leads to inadequate supervision for inmates, putting them at higher risk of harming themselves or others.
Clarke said there have been “reports of countless other assaults” and one major prison riot in the last year.
Sara J. Totonchi, executive director of Southern Center for Human Rights, called the conditions inside Georgia’s prisons “horrific” and “chaotic” in a statement Tuesday. Her organization called on the Department of Justice to intervene in September of last year, citing "escalating violence" and rioting provoked by lack of access to food, water and medical care.
“We are so grateful to the DOJ for heeding our call and recognizing the human rights crisis that is unfolding every day in Georgia prisons,” Totonchi said. “This is a significant step in our ongoing struggle for accountability for the lives that have been lost and for the people who continue to suffer behind the walls."
Understaffing can prevent prisoners from getting necessary medical aid and mental health care, putting them at higher risk of taking their own lives.
Those risks are compounded if the prisoners are isolated in solitary confinement.
In a lawsuit filed in Macon federal court Friday on behalf of a class of inmates held in solitary confinement at Georgia State Prison, the Southern Center for Human Rights accused the state's Department of Corrections of fostering “inhuman” conditions and keeping prisoners in solitary confinement for months or years.
The complaint alleges that inmates in solitary confinement units are often locked in temporary holding areas like shower stalls for hours, causing them to pass out and vomit from heat exposure.
Inmates sent to a psychiatric isolation unit for mental health treatment are kept in rat-infested cells where the walls and surfaces are allegedly covered with blood and feces.
According to the complaint, at least 12 people have died by suicide in the prison in the last two years. A total of 19 people died by suicide in prisons statewide in 2020, twice the national average.
Clarke said Tuesday that investigators will give the state written notice of any systemic constitutional violations they uncover and help come up with solutions for fixing the causes.
The inquiry will be carried out under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal law that authorizes the Justice Department to investigate state prisons to evaluate whether incarcerated people are subject to a pattern or practice of constitutional violations. Previous investigations under the Act have led to settlement agreements between the federal government and the state which result in reforms.
In a statement, the Georgia Department of Corrections denied that it engaged in any pattern of violating prisoners’ civil rights or failing to protect them from harm.
“We cooperated fully with the USDOJ’s initial investigation in 2016 and are proud of the service and dedication of our team since then to perform during unprecedented challenges,” spokesperson Lori Benoit said in a statement.
The investigation will be conducted jointly with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Georgia.
In a statement, Acting U.S. Attorney David H. Estes for the Southern District of Georgia called the inquiry “an example of our office’s commitment to stamping out violence in our district, no matter where it is found, no matter who the victim is.”
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