A rash of violence swept through the Georgia prison system last month, including three slayings and a bloody scuffle between guards and a handcuffed, mentally ill inmate that left him hospitalized with serious injuries, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The string of violent incidents was serious enough to be brought to the attention of Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Yolanda Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Corrections, said the prison system has found no common causes linking the incidents. Stephen Bright of the Southern Center for Human Rights, said three slayings in a month is “very troubling.” “It raises questions about the degree of security at the prisons and supervision of the correctional officers,” he said. Thompson said it’s difficult to manage convicted felons – 60 percent of whom are considered violent. About 7,000 inmates are serving life sentences, and about 8,000 have mental illnesses, she said. The total prison population on Friday was 52,792.
Link: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2007/04/08/0409metprisoner.html