Current:Home > MarketsGeorgia prison officials in ‘flagrant’ violation of solitary confinement reforms, judge says-LoTradeCoin
Georgia prison officials in ‘flagrant’ violation of solitary confinement reforms, judge says
View Date:2024-12-23 18:06:22
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia prison officials have flagrantly violated a court order to reform conditions for prisoners in the state’s most restrictive holding facility, showing “no desire or intention” to make the required changes to solitary confinement practices, a federal judge said.
In a damning ruling, U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell on Friday held officials at the Georgia Department of Corrections in contempt, threatening them with fines and ordering an independent monitor to ensure compliance with a settlement agreement for the Special Management Unit of the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, about 50 miles (80km) south of Atlanta.
The SMU houses some of the state’s most violent offenders in solitary confinement under conditions that one expert found risked causing psychological harm.
“Despite clear and unambiguous directives aimed at improving conditions and procedural safeguards at the SMU, the defendants have failed to implement reforms that were agreed upon by the parties and ordered by the Court, thereby negating the required relief,” Treadwell wrote.
He accused prison officials of falsifying documents and said they routinely placed new arrivals at the facility in “strip cells,” where one inmate said he was not given clothes or a mattress and could not use the toilet because it was broken and filled with human waste.
A spokesperson for the state department of corrections, Joan Heath, said in an email it will not be commenting on legal matters.
The settlement agreement stemmed from a 2015 lawsuit by Timothy Gumm, an inmate at the SMU serving a life sentence for rape. In the most restrictive wings, prisoners remained locked in their cells alone 24 hours a day, five to seven days a week, and weren’t allowed to have books or other distractions, lawyers for Gumm and other inmates said.
A psychology professor and prison expert told the court he had toured maximum security prisons in roughly two dozen states, and Georgia’s SMU unit was “one of the harshest and most draconian” he had seen.
Craig Haney’s report — submitted to the court in 2018 by lawyers for prisoners — included images of prisoners with self-inflicted cuts, blood on the floor of one cell and the window of another, and descriptions of “extraordinarily harsh” living conditions. His conclusion: “The prisoners at this facility face a substantial risk of serious harm, harm that may be long-lasting and even fatal.”
The settlement agreement the court approved in 2019 required prison officials to allow prisoners out of their cells at least four hours each weekday, give them access to educational programming and materials, and keep their cells clean, among other changes.
In his order on Friday, Treadwell said the plaintiffs presented “overwhelming evidence” that inmates remained in their cells between 22 and 24 hours a day and did not receive the required minimum of at least two hours a week of classroom time. They were also not given weekly access to a book cart, library or computer tablet as required, among numerous other violations, the judge said.
He called the violations “longstanding and flagrant.”
Georgia’s prisons also face scrutiny from the U.S. Justice Department, which announced in 2021 it was launching a civil rights probe of the system.
veryGood! (26)
Related
- 'The Penguin' spoilers! Colin Farrell spills on that 'dark' finale episode
- Angela Bassett and Mel Brooks to receive honorary Oscars
- Madonna hospitalized with serious bacterial infection, manager says
- Trump’s Fighting to Keep a Costly, Unreliable Coal Plant Running. TVA Wants to Shut It Down.
- Oprah Winfrey denies being paid $1M for Kamala Harris rally: 'I was not paid a dime'
- Madonna hospitalized with serious bacterial infection, manager says
- Canada’s Tar Sands Province Elects a Combative New Leader Promising Oil & Pipeline Revival
- Stimulus Bill Is Laden With Climate Provisions, Including a Phasedown of Chemical Super-Pollutants
- Martin Scorsese on faith in filmmaking, ‘The Saints’ and what his next movie might be
- Can air quality affect skin health? A dermatologist explains as more Canadian wildfire smoke hits the U.S.
Ranking
- John Krasinski named People magazine’s 2024 Sexiest Man Alive
- Local Advocates Say Gulf Disaster Is Part of a Longstanding Pattern of Cultural Destruction
- The 26 Best Deals From the Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale: 60% Off Coach, Good American, SKIMS, and More
- Save $300 on This Stylish Coach Outlet Tote Bag With 1,400+ 5-Star Reviews
- Powell says Fed will likely cut rates cautiously given persistent inflation pressures
- Biden touts economic record in Chicago speech, hoping to convince skeptical public
- Wave of gun arrests on Capitol Hill, including for a gun in baby stroller, as tourists return
- Colorado Court: Oil, Gas Drilling Decisions Can’t Hinge on Public Health
Recommendation
-
Kelly Rowland and Nelly Reunite for Iconic Performance of Dilemma 2 Decades Later
-
Suniva Solar Tariff Case Could Throttle a Thriving Industry
-
Five Years After Paris, Where Are We Now? Facing Urgent Choices
-
Payment of Climate Debt, by Rich Polluting Nations to Poorer Victims, a Complex Issue
-
Man is 'not dead anymore' after long battle with IRS, which mistakenly labeled him deceased
-
Tax Overhaul Preserves Critical Credits for Wind, Solar and Electric Vehicles
-
Is Trump Holding Congestion Pricing in New York City Hostage?
-
Latest Canadian wildfire smoke maps show where air quality is unhealthy now and forecasts for the near future