It is the third death at the Chattooga County facility in less than a month.
The inmate, whose identity was being withheld Friday evening pending family notification, was involved in an altercation at the prison Friday afternoon, according to Georgia Department of Corrections spokesperson Gwendolyn Hogan.
Exactly how many inmates were a part of the incident is unconfirmed, and Hogan said that is part of the investigation.
Because of injuries he sustained during the incident, the inmate was taken to a local area hospital, the name of which Hogan said she could not disclose.
She said the inmate is believed to have died while at that hospital.
Hogan said both the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Department of Corrections are investigating the incident.
Authorities began probes into the separate deaths of two other Hays State Prison inmates in December.
Damien McClain was killed in a fight in a prison cell on Dec. 26, while Derrick Stubbs was found dead while housed in protective custody on Dec. 22
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that the GBI charged Daniel Ferguson with McClain’s murder.
Hays State Prison is a close security facility in Trion that houses male offenders with behavioral problems that cannot be addressed at other prisons and Mental Health Level II offenders.
Oh yeah, it's a "violent" place, but it could be a little safer if there were changes made by the powers that be within the Department of Corrections. Hayes State Prison alone is over 100 officers short and more are leaving every day. They can't train the little kids coming in to replace the leaving experienced officers fast enough.
The situation at Hayes is critical and NO ONE cares.
The RNT doesn't allow posting on the arrest record page or I would've asked about this there.
Read more: Calhoun Times - Armed Kingston man shot and killed by deputies on Dews Pond
I wonder how many times will the GDC offer their "this is an active investigation, and we do not comment on active investigations" b.s. when asked about this murder? It seems like the powers-that-be at the GDC are giving immunity when dealing with the press. If an inmate at a local jail somewhere so much as stubbs a toe, there are inquiries and a full-fledged press conference, telling everything that happened, with charts and letters, and photographs with little arrows on them; If 20 inmates killed 20 officers at the state prison, they would still get the same statement, and, eventually, people will quit asking.
I am not pointing fingers at the officers at hays, at all (maybe one or two higher-ups there); but SOMEBODY needs to demand answers to why some of these incidents are happening... and u will find the following are a few of the recurring answers:
GROSS UNDER-STAFFING is making it where the officers can't effectively have control of the inmates (when it is suggested that you have one officer for every 30-40 inmates, and Hays sometimes has an officer for every 256 inmates, that can't be blamed on the officers...
ILL-EQUIPPED OFFICERS can't perform the jobs they are asked to do, because they don't have manpower or the equipment to do so. Many people watch tv, and think that these officers go to work armed like a star wars stormtrooper, or something... in truth, these officers don't have armored vests, a gun, a taser, billy clubs, pepper spray, and buttons on their badges, that turn them into Superman when pushed. In reality, they come in, equipped with a pair of hand-cuffs (with no key), a set of gate keys, a walkie talkie, and an ink pen- nothing more... Do you think you can keep a hundred, or so, rapists, murderers, and thugs (each equipped with shanks, billy clubs, and cell phones) in line, and safe? If you do think you can, you have the same messed-up mind as the idiots in the White House, that thinks banning guns from LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS is going to make the criminals suddenly stop shooting people with their illegally-obtained guns... They are called CRIMINALS for a reason- they don't have the same belief system the rest of us do, so RATIONAL thoughts don't mean the same to them...
And, OUT-DATED and POORLY-MAINTAINED FACILITIES makes it very hard to control the population in the correct manner. Lock-down (on week nights, for instance) is 11:30 pm... the inmates are supposed to be locked in their cells at that time, two to a cell, to stay until 6:00-ish the next morning, making contact with other inmates nearly impossible after that time, right??? WRONG. When a majority of the cell doors' locks are broken, and have been for a loooong time, it. Is nearly impossible for an ill-equipped officer (see above) to make the inmates stay in their assigned cells... and they can't just call a hundred officers in to help them make sure that these degenerates stay in their cells ( see the GROSS UNDER-STAFFING section above... remember?)...
In truth, it is amazing what kind of catastrophes are avoided daily at that place, with the officers doing the best they can with what little they have to work with...
Please join me in praying for my fellow officers' safety, everytime you happen to think about it; it will go Greaty APPRECIATED....