Nearly 400 pre-trial detainees to be transferred from private prison in Georgia in move critics call "a catastrophe"

Key Points:

• The U.S. Marshals Service plans to transfer about 400 pre-trial detainees from the GEO Group-run Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility in Lovejoy, Georgia, to the Irwin County Detention Center nearly 200 miles away, starting the week of September 21 and completing by October 31, 2026.
• The move is driven by concerns over inadequate and unsafe conditions at the Deyton facility, including security issues like malfunctioning locks and structural problems, which have persisted without improvement.
• Federal defenders, prosecutors, and judges warn that relocating detainees far from Atlanta’s federal courthouse will hinder access to counsel, increase travel costs, and disrupt criminal prosecutions, with Chief Judge Leigh Martin May calling the move a potential "catastrophe" for the Northern District of Georgia.
• The Irwin County Detention Center, operated by La Salle Corrections, has a history of lawsuits and human rights complaints, raising concerns about whether conditions there represent an improvement over the current facility.
• The Marshals Service’s decision not to renew the GEO Group contract follows prior issues, including a 2020 Justice Department audit that found staffing shortages and contract management problems at the Lovejoy facility, although no payments were deducted despite these findings.