Metro State Prison

Metro State Prison, previously the Metro Correctional Institution,^[1] is a former Georgia Department of Corrections prison for women in unincorporated southern DeKalb County, Georgia,^[2] near Atlanta.^[1][3] Female death row inmates (UDS, "under death sentence") were held in the Metro State Prison.^[4] The prison had room for 779 prisoners. It was closed in 2011.^[5] In 2018, the prison was renovated and reopened as the Metro Reentry Facility.

History

Metro State opened in 1980 as a men's prison. In 1993 the male prisoners were moved out of Metro and were replaced with prisoners from the Georgia Women's Correctional Institution.^[5] The prison planned to move the 700 male prisoners at Metro to other prisons. The swap was scheduled for completion on July 1, 1993.^[6] As the transfer occurred the prison was the only co-ed prison in the State of Georgia.^[1] Georgia DOC officials said that the gender swap occurred because many female prisoners were from Greater Atlanta and the proximity would provide more opportunities for family members to visit them. In addition, the location allowed female prisoners to have more access to psychological and medical services available in Greater Atlanta. Lynn Cook of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said "[t]he swap also made [sic] to get the female inmates out of a culture at Georgia Women’s Correctional Institution that had allowed officers and other workers at the prison to engage in sexual relationships with inmates."^[5]

In 2011 the State of Georgia closed the prison. The women were moved to Lee Arrendale State Prison and Pulaski State Prison. Georgia DOC officials declined to state when the agency began moving the prisoners or when the move had been completed, citing security concerns. The inmates and employees had been cleared out of the prison by April 30, 2011. Brian Owens, the Commissioner, stated in 2011 to members of the Georgia Legislature that the number of women coming into the Georgia DOC system had declined even though the overall prison population had increased. In January 2011 Owens said that a private prison company may have expressed an interest in buying the prison. In April 2011 a spokesperson for the Georgia DOC said that the state had no plans for the facility.^[5] At the time of the closure the prison had 319 employees. The state offered them transfers to other prisons.^[7]

After renovation, the facility reopened in 2018 as the Metro Reentry Facility.^[8]

Notable prisoners

Non-death row

• Lynn Turner (died in prison)^[9]

Death row

• Kelly Gissendaner

References

External links

• "Metro State Prison" - Georgia Department of Corrections (Archive)
• Quinn, Christopher. "State to close Metro State Prison; penal reform on state agenda." Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Wednesday January 19, 2011.

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Georgia Department of Corrections facilities

State prisons

• Arrendale State Prison
• Augusta State Medical Prison
• Autry State Prison
• Baldwin State Prison
• Burruss Correctional Training Center
• Calhoun State Prison
• Central State Prison
• Coastal State Prison
• Dodge State Prison
• Dooly State Prison
• Emanuel Women’s Facility
• Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison
• Hancock State Prison
• Hays State Prison
• Helms Facility
• Johnson State Prison
• Lee State Prison
• Long State Prison
• Macon State Prison
• Montgomery State Prison
• Phillips State Prison
• Pulaski State Prison
• Rogers State Prison
• Rutledge State Prison
• Smith State Prison
• Special Management Unit at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison
• Telfair State Prison
• Valdosta State Prison & Annex
• Walker State Prison
• Ware State Prison
• Washington State Prison
• Whitworth Women's Facility
• Wilcox State Prison

Reentry facilities

• Metro Reentry Facility

Transitional centers

• Albany Transitional Center
• Arrendale Transitional Center
• Atlanta Transitional Center
• Augusta Transitional Center
• Charles D. Hudson Transitional Center
• Clayton Transitional Center
• Coastal Transitional Center
• Columbus Transitional Center
• Macon Transitional Center
• Metro Transitional Center
• Phillips Transitional Center
• Smith Transitional Center
• Valdosta Transitional Center

Probation facilities

• Bacon Probation Detention Center
• Bainbridge Probation Substance Abuse Treatment Center
• Bleckley Probation Detention Center
• Colwell Probation Detention Center
• Emanuel Probation Detention Center
• McEver Probation Detention Center
• Patten Probation Detention Center
• Paulding Probation Detention Center
• Treutlen Probation Detention Center
• Women’s Probation Detention Center

Substance abuse facilities

• Appling Integrated Treatment Facility
• Northwest Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Center
• Turner Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Center
• West Central Integrated Treatment Facility

Private facilities

• Coffee Correctional Facility
• Jenkins Correctional Facility
• Riverbend Correctional Facility
• Wheeler Correctional Facility

County facilities

• Athens-Clarke County Correctional Institution
• Bulloch County Correctional Institution
• Carroll County Correctional Institute
• Clayton County Prison
• Colquitt County Prison
• Coweta County Prison
• Decatur County Prison
• Effingham County Prison
• Floyd County Prison
• Gwinnett County Prison
• Hall County Correctional Institution
• Harris County Prison
• Jackson County Correctional Institution
• Jefferson County Correctional Institute
• Mitchell County Correctional Institute
• Muscogee County Prison
• Richmond County Correctional Institution
• Screven County Prison
• Spalding County Correctional Institution
• Sumter County Correctional Institute
• Terrell County Correctional Institute

Closed facilities (partial list)

• Bostick State Prison
• Georgia State Prison
• Homerville State Prison
• Men's State Prison
• Metro State Prison
• Milan State Prison
• Rivers State Prison
• Scott State Prison
• Thomas County Prison
• Troup County Correctional Institution
• Wayne State Prison

See also

• 2010 Georgia prison strike

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