Prisoners charged with murder and other crimes in deadly fight at Georgia state prison

DAVISBORO, Ga. (AP) — Twelve prisoners have been charged with murder and other crimes in a fight that left four inmates dead and a dozen injured at a Georgia state prison in January, corrections officials confirmed Monday.

The fighting broke out Jan. 11 in an outdoor area of Washington State Prison, a medium-security facility in Davisboro, about 130 miles (210 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta. Guards used non-lethal weapons to quell the fighting, bringing the situation under control in about 90 minutes, the Department of Corrections said at the time.

In addition to murder, the 12 prisoners are also charged with aggravated assault, gang participation and unlawful acts of violence in a penal institution, department spokesperson Joan Heath said in an email. She did not provide further details and said the investigation remains active.

The fight came less than two years after a 2024 report by the U.S. Department of Justice said Georgia prison officials were “deliberately indifferent” to unchecked deadly violence, widespread drug use, extortion and sexual abuse at state lockups.

The report, which followed a civil rights investigation, found sophisticated gangs run prison black markets trafficking in drugs, weapons and electronic devices such as drones and smartphones. Investigators also cited a rising number of homicides in Georgia prisons, rising from seven in 2018 to 35 in 2023.

State officials denied they were violating inmates’ constitutional rights at the time of the 2024 report, but Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver and others have acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a staffing crisis in state prisons as many prison guards resigned. The state has pumped more than $600 million in new spending into the Department of Corrections in recent years. That has helped hire more guards, but the corrections chief told lawmakers in December that the state is still 1,000 guards short of recommended staffing levels.