On October 2, 1789, President George Washington signed a resolution transmitting the (then-twelve) amendments constituting the Bill of Rights to the states that had ratified the Constitution. Click here for the letter from Washington to Governor Charles Pinckney of South Carolina that accompanied the amendments.
On October 2, 1835, Texans and Mexicans met in the first military battle of the Texas Revolution, the Battle of Gonzales.
In 1831, Mexican authorities gave the settlers of Gonzales a small cannon to help protect them from frequent Comanche raids. Over the next four years, the political situation in Mexico deteriorated, and in 1835 several states revolted. As the unrest spread, Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea, the commander of all Mexican troops in Texas, felt it unwise to leave the residents of Gonzales a weapon and requested the return of the cannon.
When the initial request was refused, Ugartechea sent 100 dragoons to retrieve the cannon. The soldiers neared Gonzales on September 29, but the colonists used a variety of excuses to keep them from the town, while secretly sending messengers to request assistance from nearby communities. Within two days, up to 140 Texians gathered in Gonzales, all determined not to give up the cannon. On October 1, settlers voted to initiate a fight. Mexican soldiers opened fire as Texians approached their camp in the early hours of October 2. After several hours of desultory firing, the Mexican soldiers withdrew.
On October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving to be observed on November 26, 1863 and on the fourth Thursday in November every succeeding year.
This announcement harkened back to when George Washington was in his first term as the first president in 1789 and the young American nation had only a few years earlier emerged from the American Revolution. At that time, George Washington called for an official celebratory “day of public thanksgiving and prayer.” While Congress overwhelmingly agreed to Washington’s suggestion, the holiday did not yet become an annual event.
Thomas Jefferson, the third president, felt that public demonstrations of piety to a higher power, like that celebrated at Thanksgiving, were inappropriate in a nation based in part on the separation of church and state. Subsequent presidents agreed with him. In fact, no official Thanksgiving proclamation was issued by any president between 1815 and the day Lincoln took the opportunity to thank the Union Army and God for a shift in the country’s fortunes on this day in 1863.
On October 2, 1879, Wallace Stevens was born. Stevens would become a renowned poet and insurance industry lawyer. My favorite poem of his is “Connoisseur of Chaos.”
A. A violent order is disorder; and
B. A great disorder is an order. These
Two things are one.
President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke at the White House on October 2, 1909.
On October 3, 1922, Rebecca Latimer Felton was appointed to the United States Senate from Georgia following the death of Senator Tom Watson. After initially being rebuffed by the Senate, Felton was sworn-in on late in November, becoming the first woman to serve in the United States Senate.
Thurgood Marshall was sworn-in as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court on October 2, 1967.
Betty Talmadge, then wife of Senator Herman Talmadge, hosted a fundraiser with Rosalynn Carter and Joan Mondale on October 2, 1976.
Ground was broken for The Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta on October 2, 1984.
On October 3, 1995, O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder.
The last Braves game at Turner Field was played on October 2, 2016, with the Detroit Tigers besting the Braves by 1-0.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Plains, Georgia celebrated the 100th birthday of former President Jimmy Carter, according to 13WMAZ.
For Carter’s 100th birthday on Tuesday, the town had a concert at his old high school to celebrate with artists like Brent Cobb, Cindy Morgan and David Osborne.
Both Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter graduated from Plains High School. Jimmy played basketball there, and was in the Future Farmers of America. Rosalynn graduated a few years after Jimmy, as class valedictorian.
Carter, the 39th president of the United States, is the oldest living president and longest-lived president in U.S. history. Two days prior to his birthday, current President Joe Biden wished the Georgia native well.
“Mr. president, you’ve always been a moral force for a nation and the world,” Biden said, delivering remarks on “CBS Sunday Morning.”
“ … You’re a voice of courage, conviction, compassion, and most of all a beloved friend of (First Lady) Jill (Biden) and me and our family.”
Carter was elected in 1976, defeating sitting President Gerald Ford. He served in the White House from 1977 to 1981, and lost his reelection bid to Republican Ronald Reagan.
Carter also was governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975, a member of the state Senate from 1963 to 1967 and a member of the U.S. Navy.
Carter’s wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, died in November at age 96. In February 2023, Jimmy Carter went into hospice care in his hometown of Plains, according to his family.
Even at 99, and in hospice care, Carter has been involved in politics. His grandson, Jason Carter, said during the Democratic National Convention that Jimmy Carter was excited to get the chance to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Acting Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Georgia to survey damage from Hurricane Helene, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Augusta on Wednesday to tour damage caused by flooding from Hurricane Helene, with a future trip also in the works for North Carolina.
Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, will survey the impacts of Hurricane Helene and receive an on-the-ground briefing about recovery efforts in the state, the White House said. Harris will also provide updates on federal actions in support of the emergency response in Georgia and other states in the Southeast.
A White House official confirmed that Harris in the coming days will also travel to North Carolina, where the western part of the state including Asheville was battered by the storm.
The speed, quality and disputes over federal aid could have election ramifications in the battleground states of North Carolina and Georgia, both ravaged by flooding.
Harris’ Georgia trip comes after former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, on Monday visited Valdosta, Georgia, where he received a briefing on the hurricane’s devastation.
Around 2:30 p.m., the Vice President will arrive in Augusta, at the Augusta Regional Airport. When she arrives, she will be briefed on recovery efforts.
At 4 p.m. the Vice President will provide updates on Federal actions that are being taken to support emergency response and recovery efforts in Georgia and other states throughout the southeast following Hurricane Helene. These remarks in Augusta will be pooled press and livestreamed.
The White House said Harris has spoken with Georgia leaders, including Gov. Brian Kemp and Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, ahead of her planned visit to the state.
The Augusta visit comes after ones Monday by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.`
Governor Brian Kemp issued Executive Order #10.01.24.01, extending the State of Emergency for Hurrican Helene through October 9, 2024 at 11:59 PM and Executive Order #10.01.24.02, suspending the state motor fuel tax for the duration of the State of Emergency.
The gas tax suspension will go into effect on Thursday, October 3rd at 12 a.m.
Th suspension will be in place until the end of the state of emergency which Governor Kemp extended until Wednesday, October 9th.
The move, announced after 6 p.m. on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, effectively lowers the price of gasoline and diesel fuel at the pump by more than 30 cents, state Department of Revenue data show. The change takes effect beginning Thursday.
The current average price of regular gasoline in Georgia is $2.94 a gallon, about 24 cents a gallon cheaper than the national average, according to Gas Buddy, which tracks fuel prices nationally.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a major disaster declaration for Lowndes County, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.
Lowndes County officials held a press conference Tuesday to give an update about the Federal Emergency Management Agency declaration. The press conference covered the status of FEMA’s involvement as well as ongoing recovery efforts and available resources for residents and businesses affected by Hurricane Helene.
“We have transitioned from the emergency response phase to the recovery phase, but we still have a long road ahead to restore our community,” said Ashley Tye, Emergency Management Director of Lowndes County. “Helene caused damage on a scale we have never seen before.”
“I want to assure all the residents of Lowndes County that the leaders, first responders, utility workers, and hundreds of volunteers all over the country are working hard to secure as many resources as possible to help provide for the basic needs of our community,” said Tye.
“I am pleased to announce we were informed today that the president authorized FEMA to issue a major disaster declaration for several counties in Georgia, including Lowndes County,” he said.
He said the declaration will provide assistance to those in immediate need of food and temporary housing, and encourages anyone affected by Helene to go ahead and register with FEMA now. The only way to register with FEMA is online or by phone for now. Tye said FEMA will be sending outreach teams to help assist residents get registered and will soon have a fiscal office set up to further assist with registration.
To register online with FEMA by going to www.disasterassistance.gov or if you do not have access to the internet you can call 1-800-621-3362 to register by phone.
Governor Kemp spoke in Wheeler County, according to 13WMAZ:
Hours after suspending the state’s fuel tax to help lower recovery costs, Kemp stopped in Wheeler County to address the community Wednesday night.
This is Kemp’s first public address since nearly doubling state National Guard troops that will help respond to damage around the state.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for 41 Georgia counties in the aftermath of Helene.
There were initially 11 counties in the declaration: Appling, Brooks, Coffee, Columbia, Jefferson, Liberty, Lowndes, Pierce, Richmond, Tattnall and Toombs.
Kemp says he was displeased with FEMA’s original decision to provide less than a dozen counties with federal relief.
He said he spoke with President Biden’s Chief of Staff to advocate more counties to be added to that list.
Now, 30 counties will qualify for federal relief: Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bulloch, Burke, Candler, Chatham, Clinch, Colquitt, Cook, Echols, Emanuel, Evans, Glascock, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jenkins, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Lincoln, McDuffie, Montgomery, Screven, Telfair, Treutlen, Ware, Washington and Wheeler.
“We’re just trying to do everything that we can to help fight for our people and get relief,” Kemp said. “I called up an additional 1,000 troops this morning. Now that we got the roads cleared, we can move pods, move supplies, get bigger trucks in here, so we got more resources coming.”
Statewide damage totals have exceeded $326 million so far, according to GEMA Director Chris Stallings.
He says crews from states around the country have contributed to recovery efforts.
“You got communities that are just as hard hit, that have fatalities, that feel like nobody’s doing anything for they feel like they’re forgotten. I said, ‘That’s the problem, and we gotta get that problem fixed.‘ Thankfully, they did.” Kemp said. “Y’all are doing the lord’s work. We see it, we hear it, and we’re so appreciative of what we’re doing for the citizens and your community and citizens of our state.”
Governor Kemp also spoke in Hazlehurst, according to WJCL.
Gov. Brian Kemp made his way to Jeff Davis County to assess damage from Hurricane Helene and talk recovery efforts on Tuesday as residents are reeling from the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene.
“No one was spared in the storm, y’all, when it came to our state,” Kemp remarked during his visit.
Gov. Kemp addressed the ongoing recovery efforts, highlighting the massive task ahead.
“Here in this community, Georgia Power lines are dealing with 8,000 broken poles and 21,000 spans of wire that are down,” he noted. Kemp added that 92% of the county was without power.
As of Tuesday night, 7,900 people in Jeff Davis County were still without power, as the community of Jeff Davis, the focus remains on rebuilding their homes, their farms, and their lives.
Valdosta modified the curfew still in effect, according to WALB.
The Valdosta Police Department (VPD) has announced that the curfew put in place before Hurricane Helene is still in effect.
The curfew is now in effect daily from 8 p.m. to 6 p.m. In a release, police say that more than 70% of the city remains without power.
• Traveling to/from work
• Medical reasons/needs
• Getting essential supplies
• Traveling to restaurants, PODs (Points of Distribution), showers, food and meal sitesRestaurants and other businesses will remain open but police ask that customers plan ahead to be off the roadways by 8 p.m.
Bulloch County public schools will be closed all week, according to the Statesboro Herald.
Savannah-Chatham County public schools are closed today, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Last Friday was an virtual learning day for students, but Monday, Tuesday and now Wednesday are considered “non-instructional days,” with no in-person or e-learning activities scheduled.
The district’s assessment factors for making the decision on whether to reopen or not include, “safe roadways for bus travel, operational capacity of school cafeterias, power restoration, functional air-conditioning systems, and internet connectivity in our schools and the community.” SCCPSS reiterated that safety in its facilities for students and staff are a top priority. In the notice, the district shared that it is “considering potential reopening scenarios that could include a combination of e-learning or in-person learning based on the number of schools and facilities that have reliable power and internet connectivity.”
Augusta area schools also remain closed, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
Richmond County School System said Saturday that all schools and offices will be closed through Friday and students will not learn from home at this time. Outside of essential staff, no employees will report to work and all offices will be closed.
Augusta University said Sunday that campuses would remain closed until Monday, Oct. 7. There will be no instruction during this time.
Augusta Prep is closed through Monday, Oct. 7. Fallen trees caused damage to the campus signage and fencing in multiple areas, including the baseball field and tennis courts. The cross country trail was also covered with trees.
Augusta Technical College and Episcopal Day Schools will also not reopen until Oct. 7.
Columbia County School District said Sunday that its closure will extend through the week. They will continue to provide updates in the coming days, as quickly as possible, including staff options for returning to work in a safe manner as well as updates on plans for makeup athletic events and other student activities.
Tift County schools are closed today, according to the Tifton Gazette.
Tift said it will update Wednesday as to the status of classes for Thursday.
Newton County schools reopen today after closing because of the Biolab fire, according to the AJC.
As the sun lifts above the horizon Wednesday morning, so will the shelter-in-place advisory for Rockdale County residents.
The county, with a population of more than 90,000, had been told to shelter in place after the fire broke out Sunday. About 17,000 of those people were placed under evacuation orders in Conyers. The broad shelter-in-place order was lifted Monday evening as officials pivoted to advising residents to hunker down again early Tuesday if winds pushed the plume overhead.
By Tuesday afternoon, officials recommended that residents shelter in place from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. until Friday.
Rockdale County government offices will be closed the entire week. Rockdale County schools were already closed this week for fall break. Neighboring Newton County Schools, closed since Monday, will reopen Wednesday on a two-hour delay.
Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson gave an update on storm recovery, according to WRDW.
Mayor Garnett Johnson said water was starting to run again in west Augusta – although pressure was still low – about 24 hours after areas south of Gordon Highway got water service Monday.
The entire city is still under an order requiring water to be boiled before consumption after the system had to be shut down Sunday for repairs after Hurricane Helene slammed the city.
“There’s somewhere between 18 to 20 tankers that are strategically throughout the city at six, and now seven locations. If we have to grow those locations we certainly can,” said Johnson. “People are coming, so it tells me people are finding water to drink and cook with, so that’s refreshing to know.”
Regarding the water service, officials said a key piece of equipment was delivered late Monday night that will help restore the water treatment system to better performance.
The water system had to be shut down because too much storm debris was clogging the intake lines for the city to pump and treat enough water to meet demand. It didn’t help that the pumps were running on generators because the electric service was out.
Even though water is flowing again for much of the city, that water will need to be boiled before you consume it or brush your teeth with it.
The boil order will be gradually lifted as water is found to be contamination-free in various neighborhoods.
In-person Early Voting begins October 15, 2024 for the November 5 General Election, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Oct. 7 is the voter registration deadline and also the day absentee ballots will be mailed out to those who have requested them.
Early in-person voting begins on Oct. 15 and will run through Nov. 1. Chatham County will have its most-ever early voting locations due to high expected turnout, said Chatham County Board of Registrars Chairman Collin McRae at a Sept. 25 press conference.
“We expect pretty robust early voting turnout in the lead up to the Nov. 5 election,” McRae predicted.
The easiest way to check your voter registration status is through the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page. Chatham County residents can also call the voter registration office at (912) 790-1520 to check their status.
Note that early voting dates, times, and locations vary by county. The best way to know where you can vote early is to sign into the MVP system or contact your county board of elections. Some local special elections may have different dates, times, and locations.
The International Longshoreman’s Association union is striking East Coast ports, including Georgia’s, according to the Savannah Morning News.
The work stoppage occurred after the ILA’s contract with the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, expired at midnight on Oct. 1 and terms for a new contract were not negotiated.
The current strike came to a head primarily by two issues: wages and concerns over automation, said Chris Gaffney, managing director of Georgia Tech’s Supply Chain and Logistics Institute. Local strikers held signs saying “automation hurts families” and “machines don’t feed families.” The strikers frequently were met by honking horns and cheers from cars and semi-trucks passing by.
Local ILA workers picketed in front of the GPA’s Garden City Terminal entrance as early as 5 a.m. Tuesday. By 9 a.m., more than 150 workers stood outside the entrance with signs just 100 yards away from a “gate closed” sign. Their cars lined Main Street in Garden City. Occasional chants of “no contract, no work” rose from the workers, many of whom donned orange shirts that read, “If it’s a fight they want, it’s a war they’re going to get.”
The attention now turns to pending conversations between the ILA and USMX, Gaffney said. ILA officials have pushed for a 77% pay raise, and USMX countered with an offer of 50% raises over six years, according to the AP.
Another important development the logistics industry will monitor is the federal government’s involvement, Gaffney said. The White House released a statement from President Joe Biden Tuesday morning that supported ILA’s collective bargaining efforts.
The Georgia Ports Authority say two thousand longshore workers are employed a Peach State ports.
On Tuesday, dozens took to the picket line, part of a strike involving tens of thousands of workers at ports from Maine to Texas.
“The ILA is fighting for respect, appreciation, and fairness in the world in which corporations are dead set on replacing hardworking people with automation,” said President of the local International Longshoremen’s Association 2046 chapter Kerry Scott.
“We are now demanding $5 an hour increase in wages for each of the six years of a new [contract].” said ILA President Harold Daggett speaking to striking members in New Jersey Tuesday. “Plus, we want absolute airtight language that there will be no automation or semi-automation, and we are demanding all Container Royalty monies go to the ILA.”
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson joined striking longshore workers on the picket lines Tuesday, saying the move was in solidarity.
“We are very concerned about this,” said Mayor Johnson. “For me, it’s about being able to support the worker and ensure that they are encouraged to be able to reach some resolution.”
The Georgia Ports Authority says it’s not involved in negotiations and says the strike has forced officials to close the port range, resulting in the halting of vessel operations.
“Georgia Ports looks forward to a smooth settlement and peaceful resolution to the USMX/ILA collective bargaining agreement so we can keep supply chains moving and competitive,” said G.P.A. chief communications officer Tom Boyd.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney heard arguments in two election law cases, according to Georgia Recorder.
Georgia Democrats urged a Fulton County judge Tuesday to throw out changes made by the Republican-controlled State Election Board ahead of next month’s presidential election.
There are two new rules at the center of the case, the first requires county elections boards to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” into election results before certifying them, and the second allows county board members to examine election-related documents before certification.
The rules were passed by three Republican-appointed members, all of whom were thanked by name by former President Donald Trump at an Atlanta rally in August. Trump called members Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares and Janelle King “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency, and victory,” but said the other two members of the board “aren’t so good.”
Lawyers representing the state and national Democratic Parties sought to convince Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney that the rules are too vague and could add chaos to the counting process in what is expected to be a close race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Democrats want McBurney to override the rules or to clarify that they do not allow election board members to delay certification past the Nov. 12 deadline.
“The uncertainty that the challenged rules inject in the certification process creates a risk that the county board of elections might not certify their votes, might not certify at all, or might not certify in time,” said attorney Kurt Kastorf.
Lawyers representing Democrats also argued that a lack of definition for a reasonable inquiry means local election boards would not know when they had finished doing one. And such an inquiry could be very different in a small county or a large one.
“The reasonable inquiry rule provides all kinds of flexibility, but no direction,” said attorney Ben Thorpe. “There is no definition in the rule that helps superintendents understand when reasonable inquiry has been satisfied, and so it is then left to the determinations of individual actors.”
Attorneys for the state election board agreed with that characterization of the rule and said the court should defer to the expertise of state and county election board members.
“Nobody is arguing that these rules were meant to be or can be read to suggest to anybody that their certification duty under the law has been called into question,” said Elizabeth Young, an attorney with the Georgia Attorney General’s office, which is charged with representing state agencies. “And it’s a fundamental principle in declaratory judgment types of cases like this that we’re going to assume public officials are going to fulfill their duties in good faith, and I will say, from the people that I’ve met, that worked in elections that do a thankless and difficult job, that presumption is very valid in this case.”
McBurney also pushed back against that idea.
“I happen to live in a county where a member of a board didn’t certify, so I’m just wondering when we need to set aside that presumption,” he said.
Young said the rules would allow flexibility within the current law, but ultimately, county boards must meet their deadlines or be forced by a court order to do their jobs.
“There are all kinds of things that can and do happen in an election world that might cause a superintendent to have a question. You know, ‘I heard lightning struck this precinct and the machines went down. I don’t know that everything was correct. I’d like to ask some questions to the precinct leader over there.’”
Following the hearing, McBurney presided over a separate election-related case involving a member of the Fulton County Board of Elections. The question in that case is whether board members’ certification duties are discretionary – meaning they have the responsibility to vote against certification if they believe there are mistakes or fraud – or ministerial, meaning their duty is to certify the results and let any problems be ironed out by the proper authorities.
Speaking after that case, McBurney said he has cleared his plate of other obligations and plans to rule swiftly on both matters given the closeness of Election Day.
In two preelection trials Tuesday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said state law requires county election boards to certify results one week after Election Day.
Republicans who raised the question agreed that certification is mandatory — but with an important caveat. They said individual board members had the right to vote “no” and a majority of members could decide to exclude precincts from certification if they suspected fraud or irregularities.
“The deadline is the deadline. Get done what you can. What is reasonable to one person might be not reasonable to another. But you make your inquiry and then it’s wheels up at 5 p.m. on the 12th of November,” McBurney said.
While McBurney indicated he’s unlikely to throw out the “reasonable inquiry” requirement, he could issue an order clarifying the extent of the rules and their relationship to existing state laws.
Certifying elections is a critical step when county election boards approve results to the best of their knowledge. Only after certification can candidates contest the outcome in court.
If the majority of a county election board voted against certifying this fall’s election — in violation of state law — the courts could get involved at that point to order certification, McBurney said.
McBurney said he was less concerned about the rule allowing local board members to examine all election-related documentation. He said it didn’t require county election board members to take additional steps before certification.
In the second lawsuit, Fulton County election board member Julie Adams asked McBurney to rule that local board members’ duties are discretionary, not ministerial. Adams voted against certifying this year’s presidential primary and then sued the county.
Adams’ attorney, Richard Lawson, cited the oath that board members take, which requires them to prevent “fraud, deceit and abuse” to the best of their abilities.
And while Lawson agreed that certification is mandatory, he argued board members could agree not to certify certain precincts if they deemed the results problematic.
The Georgia State Senate Urban Affairs Committee heard criticism of new election rules, according to the Capitol Beat News Service.
“This State Election Board has unleashed a Pandora’s box of chaos and confusion,” Isabel Otero, Georgia policy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, told the state Senate’s Urban Affairs Committee, a panel made up entirely of Democrats. “[The new rules] are going to give them an excuse to deny certification [of results] and cause unnecessary delays. … Our voters deserve better.”
Specifically, Otero cited three rules changes the board has approved since early August allowing county election officials to certify results only after a “reasonable inquiry” ensures their accuracy, requiring those same officials to reconcile the total number of ballots cast in each precinct with the total number of voters, and requiring counties to hand-count the number of ballots cast at polling places on Election Night.
“Those three rules in combination allow bad actors to deny election results,” Otero said.
But Chris Bruce, policy and advocacy director for the ACLU of Georgia, said the board has overstepped its legal authority by passing the new rules just weeks ahead of Election Day.
“The State Election Board is trying to become a legislative body,” Bruce said. “All this is doing is spreading mistrust and voter apathy.”
Milton Kidd, director of the Douglas County Board of Elections, said the requirements the new rules will impose on local election workers after the polls close on Election Night are so burdensome he’s afraid many won’t be willing to serve in the future.
“There’s no legitimate purpose to having poll workers do this,” Kidd said. “It’s chaos from an administrative perspective.”
The Cobb County Board of Elections recently adopted a resolution opposing the rules changes.
“It’s a solution looking for a problem,” said Tori Silas, who chairs the Cobb board.
The State Election Board may not be through with rules changes. The board has additional meetings scheduled for Oct. 8 and Oct. 15 ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
The United States Department of Justice criticized Georgia prisons, according to GPB News via the Macon Telegraph.
In a blistering, just-released report years in the making, the federal Department of Justice describes Georgia’s prison system as anarchic and operating with little regard for the constitutional rights of the most vulnerable incarcerated people in its care.
“The State is deliberately indifferent to these unsafe conditions,” reads a line barely out of the report’s table of contents.
At the formal announcement for the report at a federal building in downtown Atlanta, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said the findings were “among the most severe violations that we have uncovered in an investigation of this kind.”
The investigation into Georgia’s prison system relied heavily on thousands of documents supplied by the GDC and local agencies, and hundreds of interviews with prison staff and those who advocate for the incarcerated.
Together, the words “indifferent” and “indifference” occur over a dozen times in the report.
The 94-page report follows an investigation which began in 2021 and depicts a correctional system where rates of homicide and sexual violence outstrip those of other state prison systems largely due to an inability to provide adequate numbers of correctional officers. For example, while the state’s prison census has doubled since 1990, the number of correctional officers has halved.
In one typical example at a close security prison, one officer was responsible for tracking 400 beds. Absent more officers, the report states gangs are left in control of prison units where the incarcerated can often unlock their own cells and wander at will.
“We hope these findings are a wake-up call: Incarcerated people and staff in the Georgia Department of Corrections face unacceptable, systemic risks, and the impact affects all of our communities,” U.S. Attorney Peter Leary said in a news release. “We hope to work collaboratively with the state of Georgia to improve these deadly conditions; indeed, the Constitution requires it.”
“Our findings report lays bare the horrific and inhumane conditions that people are confined to inside Georgia’s state prison system,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said. “Our statewide investigation exposes long-standing, systemic violations stemming from complete indifference and disregard to the safety and security of people Georgia holds in its prisons.”
“People are assaulted, stabbed, raped and killed or left to languish inside facilities that are woefully understaffed. Inmates are maimed and tortured, relegated to an existence of fear, filth and not so benign neglect. These dangerous conditions not only harm the people Georgia incarcerates — it places prison employees and the broader community at risk. The Justice Department is committed to using its authority to bring about humane conditions of confinement that are consistent with contemporary standards of decency and respect for basic human dignity.”
The report concludes that:
• The State of Georgia engages in a pattern or practice of violating incarcerated persons’ constitutional rights by failing to protect individuals housed in medium- and close-security facilities from widespread physical violence and subjecting incarcerated persons to unreasonable risk of harm from sexual abuse across its facilities. Specifically, Georgia fails to protect incarcerated persons, including persons who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex, from harm caused by sexual violence or abuse.
• Critical understaffing and systemic deficiencies in physical plant, housing and classification, contraband control, incident reporting and investigations all contribute to the widespread violence.
• Georgia allows gangs to exert improper influence on prison life, including controlling entire housing units and operating unlawful and dangerous schemes in and from the prisons, harming both incarcerated people and the public.
“Individuals incarcerated by the Georgia Department of Corrections should not be subjected to life-threatening violence and other forms of severe deprivation while serving their prison terms,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said. “Our constitution requires humane conditions in prisons, that, at a minimum, ensure that people in custody are safe.
A Clarke County Sheriff’s Deputy filed a complaint alleging Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney Deborah Gonzales’s office violated the crime victims’ bill of rights, according to the Athens Banner Herald.
Another Marsy’s Law violation recently was filed against Western Circuit District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez in Clarke County Superior Court.
The filing is the fifth against Gonzalez by attorney Kevin Epps, who in this case says the district attorney violated the victim’s rights of a Clarke County sheriff’s deputy, who was the victim in an assault case. The courts have ruled she and her office violated Marsy’s Law in the previous four cases.
The complainant, Sgt. Kelda Corn, was the victim of an assault in the county jail, where she was attacked by 30-year-old Auston Antionio Ganntt on April 21, 2023, according to court records.
The suit reports that Corn was not notified of a bond hearing on Aug. 21, 2024, where Gantt was granted a $5,000 bond. He was released from jail that day and Corn says she was also not notified of his release.
The document also reports that in September last year, representatives of the district attorneys office met with Corn and admitted they failed to notify her of the bond hearing and the defendant’s release.
The filing also charges that the sheriff’s office, where the victim works, also had a duty to notify Corn of the man’s release.
The Western Judicial Circuit serves Athens-Clarke County and Oconee County.
Election officials in Northwest Georgia met to discuss election security and rules, according to the Rome News Tribune.
The purpose of the meeting, which will take place at the Floyd County Election Center at 9:30 a.m., is to speak with 14th District U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene regarding election security, and County Attorney Virginia Harman concerning the latest rule changes to election procedures.
“We use these meetings as opportunities to educate ourselves and share information among elections supervisors,” Floyd County Election Supervisor Akyn Beck said. “Plus, we’re very lucky that in Floyd County we have such an accomplished county attorney.”
One of the concerns for the upcoming election is the continuing delivery issues with the U.S. Postal Service, Beck said. The elections supervisor hopes to receive an update from Greene on this issue.
The U.S. Postal Service has suspended operations at scores of its facilities across Georgia in the wake of Hurricane Helene, reigniting fears about its ability to process hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots in time for this year’s presidential election.
Even before the deadly storm hit, federal lawmakers in Georgia called on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to resign over chronic delays in mail delivery. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff introduced legislation requiring Senate confirmation and term limits for DeJoy’s position. And DeJoy was summoned to a recent U.S. House subcommittee hearing to explain his agency’s readiness for the Nov. 5 election.
Driven in part by the coronavirus pandemic, Georgia voters cast a record 1.3 million votes by mail during the 2020 election, according to the Secretary of State’s Office, which has estimated about 250,000 such votes will be cast this year, based on previous elections.
County election officials can begin sending out mail-in ballots on Oct 7. For them to be counted, they need to be returned by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Georgia ranked last this year in a Postal Service report tracking mail delivery time.
As authorities assessed the hurricane’s damage Saturday, the Postal Service announced it was temporarily shutting down 42 of its locations, including some in Decatur, Waycross and Valdosta. By Monday, that list had more than doubled to 90, adding several locations in the Augusta area.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter represents much of southeast Georgia, including storm-damaged areas where postal services have been suspended. On Sept. 18, he joined Georgia’s eight other Republican congressmen in sending a letter to DeJoy, outlining concerns about his agency’s readiness for what is expected to be close presidential race.
“We’ve gotten numerous calls in our office from people who are not able to get their medications and not having their mail delivered in a timely fashion, resulting in them actually not getting their bills paid on time and in some cases getting their power cut off,” Carter said in an interview Tuesday. “This situation with Hurricane Helene is going to just exacerbate that.”
The Postal Service is dispatching “recovery teams” to parts of the state impacted by the hurricane, said Tiffany Rowland, a spokeswoman for the agency
“The status of operations is being continually evaluated and adjustments made to ensure safe and swift restoration of delivery and retail services in locations as soon as possible,” she said Monday. “Efforts will continue as long as needed until full services are restored.”
In a 31-page audit report released in July, the Postal Service’s Office of the Inspector General identified “operational changes that pose a risk of individual ballots not being counted.”
DeJoy responded to concerns about his agency in a hearing Thursday before the U.S. House’s Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government. In a written statement he provided the panel, DeJoy said 94% of election mail sent first-class this fiscal year has arrived on time. The agency, he added, will begin using “extraordinary measures” on Oct. 21 to quicken ballot delivery, including additional collections and special after-hours pickups and handoffs.
“Let me be clear: the Postal Service is ready to deliver the nation’s mail-in ballots,” he said. “We have a robust and tested process for proper handling and timely delivery of election mail that is more than capable of handling any demand during the upcoming election.”
Nonprofit groups seeking to register more voters in Georgia worry the hurricane will worsen disenfranchisement. Those groups have been critical of a sweeping 2021 law Georgia’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed to tighten absentee voting regulations. Gov. Brian Kemp signed the measure into law following GOP losses in presidential and U.S. Senate races.
Gwinnett County Commission District 1 candidates will meet in a public forum, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
The Gwinnett Place, Gateway85 and Sugarloaf Community Improvement Districts will jointly host a District 1 candidate forum featuring incumbent Commissioner Kirkland Carden and his Republican opponent, Tim Le. The event will begin at 6 p.m. at the Sonesta Gwinnett Place Hotel, which is located at 1775 Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth.
Macon-Bibb County Superior Court Judge Connie Williford previously entered a consent order requiring a Macon hotel to maintain an accessible supply of Narcan to reverse opioid overdoses, according to the Macon Telegraph.
Judge Connie Williford ordered Macon Inn on Riverside Drive to carry at least 10 doses of naloxone, also known by its brand-name Narcan, after an overwhelming amount of deaths from overdoses previously at the site in 2022, according to court documents. The order was issued after Macon-Bibb County sued the inn over the issue.
But even after the order was enacted, the motel didn’t initially keep enough of the product. Years after the order, obstacles make it difficult to access the Narcan, and it’s unclear how many doses the inn carries. The office door for the inn was locked when reporters visited on Sept. 11. A sign visible through the office window said, “Opioid overdose emergency kits. Naloxone.”
Homer Jones, a security guard at the inn, wasn’t sure how many doses they carried or if their shelf life expired. He did not open the office door or show whether there was any Narcan behind the counter. He also said the inn has never used or distributed the Narcan. Yet there were instances when the inn ran low on doses.
“We really haven’t used it. We haven’t had anybody deal with overdose,” Jones told The Telegraph.
In the years since the judge’s order was issued, public safety data indicates that’s true: no confirmed overdoses have occurred at the location since 2021, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office said, though there is no clear connection between the judge’s Narcan order and the decline in overdoses at the inn. Causes of death may also be inconclusive until an autopsy is performed. The Georgia Department of Public Health did not disclose more comprehensive data regarding how many overdoses have occurred at Macon Inn.
When reporters visited Macon Inn again on Sept. 20, Rocky Patel, owner of the inn, said the office is open 24/7. He showed they had several Narcan boxes, but said there was “not a single utilization” since he became owner in 2022. He also claimed there have been no overdoses since then.
Related Posts
Republicans, Democrats Launch Broad Push for Early Voting – WSJ – WSJ
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for October 2, 2014
Reservoirs language stripped from federal bill while Florida groups support alternative approach | The Florida Current
Adoptable Georgia Dogs for October 21, 2015
Governor Deal: Georgia’s Bond rating remains strong
Comments ( 0 )