The mother of a Georgia inmate killed during a fight in a prison cell has filed a federal lawsuit accusing prison officials of civil rights violations. Damion MacClain died Dec. 26 at Hays State Prison in northwest Georgia. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by RaHonda MacClain.
Sixteen corrections officers at a northwest Georgia prison have either quit or are transferring as a new warden is set to begin duty. Some guards say they're not confident new security measures will keep them safe when a partial lockdown is lifted at the prison. The security upgrades were implemented in the wake of four inmate deaths.
A group that focuses on fighting human rights violations against inmates has sued the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Corrections, saying the agency is in violation of the state's open records law.
Law enforcement officials say violence within Georgia prisons has left 12 inmates and a guard dead in 10 months. Officials say smuggled cell phones allow inmate gangs to communicate and plan attacks.
State prison officials have named a new interim warden at a northwest Georgia prison where three inmates have died since mid-December. Department of Corrections Commissioner Brian Owens on Wednesday named Rick Jacobs acting warden at Hays State Prison in Trion.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has announced two inmates at Hays State Prison in Trion have been charged in the death of a 31-year-old prisoner. He was the third to die at the close security facility in just under a month.