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ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia prison officials are “deliberately indifferent” to unchecked deadly violence, widespread drug use, extortion and sexual abuse at state lockups, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday, threatening to sue the state if it doesn’t quickly take steps to curb rampant violations of prisoners’ Eighth Amendment protections against cruel punishment.

Prison officials responded with a statement saying the prison system “operates in a manner exceeding the requirements of the United States Constitution” and decrying the possibility of “years of expensive and unproductive court monitoring” by federal officials.

Allegations of violence, chaos and “grossly inadequate” staffing are laid out in the Justice Department’s grim 93-page report, the result of a statewide civil rights investigation into Georgia prisons announced in September 2021. The system holds an estimated 50,000 people.

“In America, time in prison should not be a sentence to death, torture or rape,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, who oversees the Justice Department’s civil rights division, said Tuesday as she discussed the findings at an Atlanta news conference.

In its response, the Georgia Department of Corrections said it was “extremely disappointed” in the accusations. The Justice Department’s findings “reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the current challenges of operating any prison system,” the agency said.

Who’s in control?

The report said large, sophisticated gangs run prison black markets trafficking in drugs, weapons and electronic devices such as drones and smart phones. Officials fight the flow of contraband through the arrest of smugglers and mass searches. “However, the constant flow of contraband underscores that these efforts have been insufficient,” the report said.

Inmate gangs have allegedly “co-opted” some administrative functions, including bed assignments, said Ryan Buchanan, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. “The leadership of the Georgia Department of Corrections has lost control of its facilities.”

Death behind bars

The number of homicides among prisoners has grown over the years — from seven in 2018 to 35 in 2023, the report said. The report said there were five homicides at four different prisons in just one month in 2023.

And the homicide numbers are often hard to nail down in Georgia Department of Corrections statistics, according to the report.

“GDC reported in its June 2024 mortality data that, for the first five months of 2024, there were 6 homicides, even though at least 18 deaths were categorized as homicides in GDC incident reports, and GDC assured us these suspected homicides were under investigation,” the report said.

Sexual abuse allegations

Multiple allegations of sexual abuse are recounted in the report, including abuse of LGBTQ inmates. A transgender woman reported being sexually assaulted at knifepoint. Another inmate said he was “extorted for money” and sexually abused after six people entered 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.

Again, the true number of such assaults may be higher. Victims are often reluctant to report sexual abuse, the report noted. And the report alleged that investigations of such abuse are sometimes questionable, as in the case of an Autry State Prison inmate who reported being raped at knifepoint. “A chemical examination of a rectum swab indicated the presence of seminal fluid, and the man was found to have bruising to his anal area. Despite this, the final OPS investigative report incorrectly determined that no seminal fluid was detected, and the allegations were not substantiated.”

In pursuit of racial justice

Clarke said Tuesday that efforts to stop the violence, suffering and chaos in the Georgia prison system also figure into the pursuit of racial justice.

“We know that across the country, Black people are disproportionately represented in the prison population,” she said. “And Georgia is no exception — 59% of people in Georgia’s prisons are Black, compared to 31% of the state’s population.”

What’s next?

Included in the report are 13 pages of recommended short-and long-term measures the state should take. The report concludes with a warning that legal action was likely. The document said the Attorney General may file a lawsuit to correct the problems in 49 days, and could also intervene in any related, existing private suits in 15 days.

“We can’t turn a blind eye to the wretched conditions and wanton violence unfolding in these institutions,” Clarke said. “The people incarcerated in these jails and prisons are our neighbors, siblings, children, parents, family members and friends.”“

However, Clarke did not discuss possible legal action during the news conference in Atlanta. She said the Justice Department looked forward to working with Georgia officials to address the myriad problems.

“Certainly, severe staffing shortages are one critical part of the problem here,” Clarke said. “We set forth in our report minimal remedial measures that include adding supervision and staffing, fixing the classification and housing system, and correcting deficiencies when it comes to reporting and investigations.”

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McGill reported from New Orleans; Durkin, from Washington.