The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionDecember 28, 2023FROM THE INSIDE: CRIMINAL KINGPINSPublic ‘getting nothing for its money’ from Georgia’s prison system failing at rehabilitation, expert says.One robbed a bank in Douglasville at the age of 16 and watched it turn into a comedy of errors when a dye pack mixed in with the cash exploded as soon as he reached the parking lot.
Another was just 14 when he joined two older teens in robbing delivery drivers in DeKalb County of cash, pizzas and C...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
December 28, 2023
FROM THE INSIDE: CRIMINAL KINGPINS
Public ‘getting nothing for its money’ from Georgia’s prison system failing at rehabilitation, expert says.
One robbed a bank in Douglasville at the age of 16 and watched it turn into a comedy of errors when a dye pack mixed in with the cash exploded as soon as he reached the parking lot.
Another was just 14 when he joined two older teens in robbing delivery drivers in DeKalb County of cash, pizzas and Chinese food, threatening them with a broken gun.
Yet another was 26 and working at a Publix warehouse when he and a co-worker went on a crime spree in Gwinnett County that included a home invasion and two armed robberies. They were caught when police pulled them over for speeding and noticed liquor bottles, including pour spouts, from the Applebee’s they’d just robbed.
Arthur Lee Cofield Jr., Nathan Weekes and Ryan Brandt received lengthy sentences in the Georgia Department of Corrections for brazen but amateurish criminal attempts to get easy money.
When they arrived, they weren’t notable criminals, murderers or gang leaders. But in prison, the three were transformed into allegedly powerful crime lords who, with the help of corrupt prison employees, built lucrative criminal enterprises that orchestrated violent attacks that occurred outside the walls.
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution examination of their stories, including new reporting on their past conduct, demonstrates how Georgia’s prisons aren’t just failing to reform people. They are allowing prisoners to keep offending — often for years and sometimes in deadly ways — while they’re behind bars.
Cofield was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the bungled bank robbery. Now he’s known as the astonishingly adept scammer who, from inside Georgia’s most secure facility, stole $11 million from the Charles Schwab account of billionaire movie producer Sidney Kimmel, turned the money into gold coins and used a portion to buy a $4.4 million mansion in Buckhead.
Weekes, who received a 17-year prison sentence for robbing the delivery drivers, is now in far deeper trouble. He faces the death penalty and is accused of ordering the murders of three people on the outside to protect a lucrative contraband ring. One victim, an 88-year-old man, was shot to death in his bed in what prosecutors say was a case of mistaken identity.
Brandt received a life sentence for his role in the Gwinnett crime spree. Although the crimes that sent him to prison 15 years ago weren’t gang-related, he’s now the top defendant in a massive federal gang indictment that says members of Sex Money Murder, a subset of the Bloods, engaged in murders, drug trafficking and fraud from inside Georgia prisons.
The circumstances in each case shed light on the realities of an incredibly expensive prison system that isn’t working...
https://www.ajc.com/news/investigations/prisons-kingpins/?fbclid=IwAR3yWs24o6lMU9fs151L7AuEyxfsfnAKQbG_pk1AIfzVLYP441cKTBtpkXU_aem_AR3KyOapImHe8p7Cj3IvzTelGm5nDm3HiypSkauPVQG7GPlirL0cj-FcZmUQw5Ad_T8
Opinion: Inmates to Gov. Kemp: Here’s how to fix Georgia’s prisons
Special Report: Inside Georgia’s prisons
Jan 27 2024
Editor’s note: This opinion piece was written by a group of Georgia prison inmates who sent it to us with the hope that their ideas for improving safety, security and other conditions inside state prisons might yield positive changes within the Georgia Department of Corrections.
We shared the gist of their piece with the office of Gov. Brian Kemp and asked them to respond to the prisoners’ concerns. The viewpoint today from the Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Corrections resulted from that request.
Open letter to Gov. Brian Kemp:
When naval officers are given command of warships, their orders contain a sentence which essentially states “Your authority and responsibility are absolute.” This statement seeks to impress upon the new captain that regardless of who screws up on a ship, or under what circumstances that occurs, the captain bears ultimate responsibility.
While Georgia is not a warship, and your office is elective rather than appointive, the concept remains the same. Disasters which occur within the executive departments of the state are your responsibility.
It’s not possible to be a marginally sentient human being and not understand that the Georgia Department of Corrections [GDC] has become a disaster of monumental proportions.
Just look at the investigative reporting by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The “junior officers” in charge of the GDC have not only run her aground, they’ve set fire to the powder magazines and somehow managed to misplace all the lifeboats.
You, sir, are the captain of this ship.
What follows are some suggestions for righting this ship, because its mission is critical to the people of Georgia. In the interests of transparency, the authors of this letter are stakeholders in this discussion because we’re “sailors” on this ship (inmates).
Everyone has a choice when confronted with problems: Be part of the solution, or part of the problem. We choose to be part of the solution.
An insiders’ view
The primary problem is that the GDC is hopelessly corrupt. There are upright and honest employees, but the overall atmosphere is one of corruption. GDC is grossly mismanaged by individuals who’re prime examples of the “Peter Principle” -- wherein folks are promoted until they’re not-quite-competent to do the job.
GDC is also excessively “inbred” to the point where the running joke is GDC stands for either Georgia Department of Corruption, or Georgia Department of Connections.
The mismanagement problem is exemplified by a systemic unwillingness to forthrightly address numerous issues. This has intensified the corruption.
The GDC is loath to take advantage of the expertise or assistance of any inmate or inmate group other than those whose motives serve the general corruption or personal agendas of staff and it’s downright afraid of inmates with educations or proven real-world experiences and success.
https://www.ajc.com/opinion/opinion-inmates-to-gov-kemp-heres-how-to-fix-georgias-prisons/KI5Q2VZASVBQBCF5TOM27DFX74/
