Georgia
Reidsville, Georgia
Name: Georgia State Prison
Population: 1,500 (men)
Founded: 1938
Who Owns It and General Facts:
Georgia state owns the prison
This main maximum-security prison in Georgia once served as a death row prison, where it's said that the remains of an electric chair can still be found. In the 40s and 50s, volunteers were offered a chance to flip the switches for only $25. (Tattnall County Website) Remains of the original electric chair, known as Old Sparky, can still be found. (Georgia State Department of Corrections)
Land History:
It’s located in Southeast Georgia’s Tattnall County, home to two other state prisons, Rogers State Prison and Smith State Prison in Glennville.
Creek Indians initially inhabited the land that the prison now sits on. A large fraction of the earliest white colonizers came from North Carolina and Virginia; many were recent veterans of the Revolutionary War (1775-83). The land was distributed out via the headright system, a grant of land to European families. The region was covered with timber and wiregrass, repellant for many farmers but suitable for raising cattle. (Tattnall County Website)
Unusual Facts:
Martin Luther King was incarcerated in this prison
Portrait in Georgia
by Jean Toomer
Hair--braided chestnut,
coiled like a lyncher’s rope,
Eyes--fagots,
Lips--old scars, or the first red blisters,
Breath--the last sweet scent of cane,
And her slim body, white as the ash
of black flesh after flame.
Atlanta, Georgia
Name: Metro State Prison in Dekalb Prison
Capacity: 779 (women)
Founded: in 1993, closed 2011to reopened in 2018 as the Metro Reentry Facility.
Who Owns It and General Facts:
Georgia state owns it
This main maximum-security prison in Georgia once served as a death row prison
Land History:
1832
In Worcester v. Georgia, the Supreme Court rules that the Cherokee Nation is a sovereign nation and, as such, is above any state law. Only the federal government has the authority to negotiate with another nation. (Perez)
The Mississippian Native tribes developed complex societies on the land where Metro sat. The Creeks and Cherokees left landmarks and cultural legacies before their 1830s removal from the state on the Trail of Tears. (Donahue)
Atlanta is known as “the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement” (Atlanta History Center). From 1940 to 1970, the city became the movement's home as Black leaders fought for access to public facilities, voting rights, and educational opportunities. Local public figures like Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Former Ambassador Andrew Young, and Congressman John Lewis represented the national and international prominence of the city through their influence on the nonviolent struggle for equal rights.
Unusual Facts:
Metro State opened in 1980 as a men's prison. In 1993 the male prisoners were transferred out of Metro and replaced with the Georgia Women's Correctional Institution prisoners. For some time, Metro was the only co-ed prison in the State of Georgia. (GA Department of State Corrections)
Data from the state says 29 people died of suicide while held in Georgia prisons in 2020. That was nearly triple the total in 2017 and gave Georgia one of the highest rates in the nation. Since the start of 2020, Georgia prisons have seen 44 suspected or confirmed homicides. (Sharpe)
The women’s choir, from The Metro State Prison, in ATLANTA, GA; performed Sunday, August 16, 2009, at the 10:45AM service at Central United Methodist Church. In this clip, the choir is singing to a recorded musical track for the offeratory.