UPDATE: GDC identifies three inmates killed in Washington State Prison ‘disturbance’
Corrections officials say the disturbance involved gang-affiliated inmates and left one officer injured.
UPDATE (1/12/26 – 4:15 p.m.) – The Georgia Department of Corrections confirms three inmates died during a “disturbance” at Washington State Prison that involved multiple inmates believed to be gang-affiliated.
According to a GDC news release, it all started around 1:25 p.m. Sunday on a sidewalk inside the facility. Prison staff initiated procedures to clear the visitation area, and no visitors were injured. Officials said injured inmates were able to enter the visitation area during the response and visitors were safely escorted out by correctional officers.
GDC says staff deployed non-lethal weapons and brought the incident under control by about 3 p.m., after completing inmate counts and wellness checks.
One correctional officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Thirteen inmates were transported to local hospitals for treatment. The facility remains on lockdown.
GDC identified the three inmates who died as Ahmod Hatcher, who was serving a 20-year sentence for aggravated assault out of Richmond County; Jimmy Trammell, who was serving a 20-year sentence for first-degree burglary out of Fulton County; and Teddy Jackson, who was serving a 10-year sentence for aggravated assault out of Bibb County.
UPDATE (1/12/26 – 3:35 p.m.):
SANDERSVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT)- Three inmates are dead following an incident at a Georgia Department of Corrections facility that began around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
According to a release from Sheriff Joel Cochran, local law enforcement agencies, including Georgia State Patrol, the Davisboro Police Department, and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, responded to assist with the situation. Officials say their role was to maintain security around the outside perimeter while Georgia Department of Corrections officers handled the incident inside the facility.
By around 6 p.m., the Department of Corrections released outside law enforcement, stating the facility was safe and secure.
Approximately 14 inmates were transported for medical treatment, along with one correctional officer.
Washington County Coroner Paul Hodges confirmed that three inmates died as a result of the incident.
Authorities have not released additional details about what led to the situation or the condition of those who were hospitalized. The investigation remains ongoing.
ORIGINAL STORY:
3 inmates dead, corrections officer and others injured in Georgia prison fight, police say
DAVISBORO, Ga. (AP) — Three inmates were killed and a corrections officer and several other inmates were injured when a fight broke out Sunday at a state prison in Georgia, according to local police.
The fight that started among inmates at the Washington State Prison left three inmates dead, Davisboro Police Chief Leondus Dixon said in an email. A corrections officer was injured and 12 inmates were taken to local hospitals for treatment, Dixon said.
The Georgia Department of Corrections had not posted any public statements about the incident to its website or social media accounts by Monday afternoon and had not responded to calls and emails from The Associated Press seeking information.
It’s not yet clear what prompted the fights or how the inmates were killed and injured or how the officer was injured. Washington County Deputy Coroner Mark Hodges said there were three deaths related to the incident, but he didn’t have any further information.
The medium security prison in Davisboro, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta, has a capacity of about 1,550 inmates, according to the Department of Corrections website.
The Department of Corrections is leading the investigation, Dixon said. In addition to Davisboro police, he said the Washington County and Johnson County sheriff’s offices and Georgia State Patrol responded to the scene.
The Georgia State Patrol referred questions to the Department of Corrections.
The Department of Justice in 2024 issued a report saying Georgia prison officials are “deliberately indifferent” to unchecked deadly violence, widespread drug use, extortion and sexual abuse at state lockups. The report, following a civil rights investigation, found sophisticated gangs run prison black markets trafficking in drugs, weapons and electronic devices such as drones and smart phones. Investigators also cited a rising number of homicides in Georgia prisons, from seven in 2018 to 35 in 2023. Homicides later rose to 66 in 2024, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and were on pace to top in 2025 through June.
State officials have denied that they were violating inmates constitutional rights at the time of the 2024 report, but Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver and others have acknowledged that the 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 the state hire more guards, but Oliver told lawmakers in December that the state is still 1,000 guards short of recommended staffing levels.
State Rep. Billy Hitchens, a Republican from Rincon, said at the December hearing that he’s concerned the prison system isn’t making meaningful progress toward preventing inmates from jamming or disabling cell-door locks. Broken locks allow inmates to roam freely and commit attacks. Oliver said then that fully replacing cell-door locks could take years.
