Corruption and staff shortages are leading to an increasing number of deaths at Valdosta State Prison in the US state of Georgia

The reality at Valdosta State Prison – including allegations of widespread corruption and a horrifying shortage of guards – shows how Georgia's troubled prison system is increasingly spiraling out of control.

Since the first day of the year in Valdosta, the warden was fired for misconduct and other officers were fired or arrested for corruption in the line of duty. In addition, 80% of correctional officer positions were vacant in April at a prison that houses the highest percentage of inmates in the GDC who have both gang membership and mental health issues, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution found.

While Georgia's entire prison system suffers from violence and severe staff shortages, events this year in Valdosta have taken the crisis to a new level.

The four killings that the AJC was able to verify this year This came after the prison had only two murders in all of 2023, two in 2022 and none in 2021, according to death certificate and GDC records. In addition to Griffith, the 2,024 victims include Rufus Lane, who was strangled in January, Ricky Harris, who was stabbed at least 30 times in the neck and face with ink pens in February, and Melvin Towns, who was stabbed to death with a homemade weapon in April.

Only one other Georgia Department of Corrections facility, Macon State Prison, reported four murders in the first six months of the year, according to cases confirmed by the AJC.

Lane's sister Denise Robinson told the AJC that her brother, who was incarcerated for decades, repeatedly spoke to her about the fact that there were few guards at the Valdosta State Prison and particularly dangerous.

“He said it was terrible,” she said. “Every day something new happens.”

In the Griffith case, all 11 men allegedly involved in the attack were charged with murder, making this incident one of the most disturbing within the GDC in recent years.

Arrest warrants and other documents describe how Griffith, who was in prison for violating parole and just months away from being released, was mercilessly attacked in an open barrack-style dormitory. One of his attackers allegedly used a wooden pole and a burning object. Another used both shoes and his fists. During the attack, men stood or sat on Griffith's chest at times while the beating continued, according to the arrest warrants, which cite video surveillance.

“Individuals who come into our system with violent offenses rarely abandon their criminal activity,” she wrote. As a result, GDC staff “work diligently in these facilities every day, ensuring that our commitment to safe operations remains at the forefront of our daily responsibilities,” she wrote.

Misconduct and corruption

Even in Georgia's prison system, where hundreds of correctional officers and other employees have been charged with smuggling and other crimes, Valdosta stands out for its unrest and corruption.

Since January, at least a dozen officers have been fired or arrested in Valdosta, including prison warden Ralph Shropshire.

Oliver could not be reached for comment.

The arrests and firings in Valdosta have decimated and tainted a workforce that was already operating at levels that made it virtually impossible to to supervise inmates. GDC data shows that in April, only 43 of 222 correctional officer positions were filled at the prison, which houses more than 1,100 men.

Although Valdosta has the highest correctional officer vacancy rate in the system, the majority of the state’s maximum security facilities have similar problems: at least 60% of their positions as correctional officers are vacant.

He wanted protection

Griffith was sent to prison in December 2022 to begin serving a 23-month sentence for a series of parole violations. His parole sentence stemmed from a case in which he and a girlfriend allowed minors to be present during sexual intercourse.

The 32-year-old Jasper County resident, an avid hunter and fisherman and fan of the Georgia Bulldogs, was just six months away from his release date at the time of his murder.

Griffith's mother, Tonya Herndon, said her son died a day after he was transferred to Valdosta from Rutledge State Prison in Columbus, where he was in protective custody. He wanted to be in protective custody rather than general custody for safety reasons, she said.

“The system should listen to inmates when they are threatened, and nonviolent inmates who violate their parole should not be sent to a maximum security prison where this happens,” Herndon said.

Heath declined to answer specific questions from the AJC about how such an egregious situation – a large-scale attack that lasted for hours – could have unfolded. What was the staffing level that night? Was anyone disciplined or fired? How can the prison operate when 80 percent of the positions are vacant?

Photo credit: Georgia Department of Corrections

Photo credit: Georgia Department of Corrections

In his response, Heath wrote: “We have worked tirelessly to address correctional staffing challenges, eradicate weapons and contraband from our facilities, deploy new technologies and resources to ensure the safety of our staff and inmates, and provide offenders with a path to success upon release.”

Griffith's death came six weeks after Towns was killed under similar circumstances in a similar barracks-like dormitory. Six inmates received disciplinary reports for their roles in that killing, according to the incident report. Two of them have since been charged with murder.

Towns, 37, was serving a six-month sentence for violating his probation on a drug charge in Fulton County and was killed just 12 days before his release. When his probation was revoked last November, the court order noted that his sentence could be served in the Fulton County Jail “if permitted.” However, he spent only three weeks in county custody before being transferred to the GDC.

The fact that Towns ended up in GDC's worst-staffed and potentially most dangerous prison while serving a six-month sentence for violating parole – which the court ruled could have been served in a county jail – still haunts members of his extended family in Atlanta.

“We have a lot of unanswered questions,” said Towns' uncle Darrell Stone. “And when we reach out to people, we end up with nothing. All we know is that we buried him.”