Human rights group challenges prison authorities

By Heidi Cenac
Independent-Mail
March 10, 2004

ALTO — The death of an 18-year-old inmate has prompted the Southern Center for Human Rights to ask the Department of Corrections to remove prisoners younger than 21 from Lee Arrendale State Prison in Alto.

Sarah Geraghty, a staff attorney at the center, said there have been numerous reports of violence in the prison, and in a letter to state Corrections Commissioner James Donald said the prison’s officials have been unable to keep inmates safe, especially young inmates.

Inmate Wayne Boatwright’s death in February came after several violent incidents and warnings that he was in danger. The center also received reports that one of the inmates who raped and strangled Boatwright had a history of raping other inmates, according to the letter.

Arrendale State Prison also is the only prison in Georgia still under a 1991 federal consent degree dealing with violence and inadequate protection for inmates, Ms. Geraghty said.

"We repeatedly hear from the juveniles in that prison that they are threatened," she said. "People really do live in constant fear of being assaulted there."

Scheree Lipscomb, public affairs director for the corrections department, said all prison incidents are investigated and handled, and Lee Arrendale is not any more violent than other prisons, she said.

"Anywhere you go, there is violence there," Ms. Lipscomb said. "Some of the worst of the worst are there, people we are truly afraid of."

The prison, which has 500 employees, houses adult and juvenile inmates, and while they are housed separately, the groups interact during school classes, she said.

Legally, someone is an adult at 18, but young prisoners still are vulnerable when transferred to the adult side, Ms. Geraghty said.

During its investigation of the prison, she said people often referred to Arrendale with a slang name outlining prisoners’ two options for survival — fight or perform sexual favors. Young people who eventually will get out and join society should not be shaped in that environment, Ms. Geraghty said.

"It is not a good way to protect ourselves to treat a young person this way," she said.

Even without juveniles in the prison a large age range would exist, Ms. Lipscomb said. The youngest prisoner at Lee Arrendale is 18 and the oldest is in his 80s.

Two gates and razor wire separate juvenile and adult prisoners on opposite wings of the prison, Ms. Lipscomb said. Juvenile prisoners do not eat or have recreation time with the adults, and when the groups are in class together an officer always is present.

"We are a value-based organization and we want to make sure we are protecting inmates as well as people working in the prisons," Ms. Lipscomb said. "The inmates have families and we are stewards of their trust."

The department is weighing the information, but has not decided if it will move prisoners yet, she said.

Ms. Geraghty said the center has not received a response to the letter from the corrections department and is considering its options for what to do next.

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