U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff took an important step last week to address violence and extortion within the walls of Pulaski State Prison.
In a letter to the director of the FBI, Ossoff asked the agency to launch an investigation, calling the situation “tragic and wholly unacceptable.”
We agree.
Ossoff’s request comes on the heels of investigations by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that revealed how gangs have taken control at a women’s prison in the state.
Those gangs have not only engaged in brutal acts of violence, but they have also extorted money from other inmates and their families for “protection,” our reporting revealed.
In the days following our investigative report, we called on state officials to act quickly and decisively to end the abuse, which extends well beyond prison walls.
In responding to Ossoff’s letter to the FBI, the Georgia Department of Corrections told the AJC it had opened 20 cases involving gang, assault or extortion activity at Pulaski this year. When cases of that nature are substantiated, they are presented for prosecution, the statement read.
Yet, the violence continues.
Consider the plight and anguish of Pamela Dixon, an Ellijay resident who was the subject of one of our articles. She paid more than $10,000 for her daughter’s protection at Pulaski.
Dixon hopes Ossoff’s letter to the FBI’s director is a first step toward cleaning up a corrupt prison racket, apparently practiced freely by some inmates.
We do, too.
In his letter to the FBI, Ossoff cited our reporting: “Due to the disturbing and violent nature of the acts described, I ask that the FBI consider looking into this pattern of gang-related extortion at Pulaski and other Georgia prisons where it may be occurring.”
Make no mistake: Prisoners should serve the time to which they are sentenced. However, they should not be subject to illegal extortion and related violence by fellow inmates.
That’s why we applaud Ossoff’s actions – and we urge other lawmakers to join him in his request.
It’s time – beyond time, actually – for a thorough and robust federal investigation.
It’s time for state corrections officials to stop these criminal extortionists from operating within their walls.
It’s time to end this criminal abuse.
The Editorial Board.
