By Kristi E. Swartz
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA — A prisoners’ rights group has sent a letter to Gov.-elect Nathan Deal and other state officials asking for major changes in the state’s prison system following allegations that at least three inmates were beaten by guards last month.
According to the newly formed Concerned Coalition to Respect Prisoners’ Rights, inmates Terrance Dean and Miguel Jackson were “brutally beaten by guards” because of their involvement in a work-stoppage protest over poor prison conditions.
Dean and Jackson are both serving 20-year sentences for armed robbery.
The “demand letter,” also sent to outgoing Gov. Sonny Perdue and the state’s Department of Corrections, asks for better heath care, for prisoners to be paid for their work and for fair parole decisions, among other things. The group is asking for a response by “early next week,” Georgia NAACP President Edward DuBose said during a news conference Thursday.
“There is need for a political remedy,” said DuBose, also co-chairman of the prisoners’ coalition.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into allegations that guards beat inmates at two state prisons, the Department of Corrections said Wednesday.
The news conference held on the front steps of the state Capitol came one day after the mother of an inmate at Smith State Prison said guards hit her son with hammers. Marie Williams told the AJC that another inmate at the prison in Tattnall County called her on her son’s behalf.
Corrections did not respond to the AJC’s request for comment Wednesday.
There are 30 prisons in the state system, housing almost 53,000 men and women.
The coalition will release its own report on the state prison system by the end of the month, DuBose said.
Copyright 2011 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution