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The Georgia Department of Corrections said the violence happened
Thursday night at Wilcox State Prison, a medium-security
facility about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Atlanta.
None of the injured prisoners received live-threatening
injuries, authorities said. Four were treated at a hospital and
sent back to the lockup. The other five remained hospitalized
Friday.
No prison staffers were injured.
The cause of the violence is under investigation. The prisoners
will remain on lockdown until the warden sees fit, the
corrections department said.
The Legislature plans to address widespread violence and deaths
in Georgia’s prisons during the session that starts Monday. The
U.S. The Department of Justice said in November that conditions
in Georgia prisons are “inhumane" and that prison officials were
violating prisoners’ Eighth Amendment protections against cruel
punishment by letting violence run rampant.
Gov. Brian Kemp this week proposed making huge investments in
the prison system, including constructing a new facility.
Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver is asking lawmakers to
amend the current year's budget to spend $458 million during the
first half of the year and increase spending by another $145
million beginning July 1.
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