The Southern Center for Human Rights has asked the U.S. Justice Department Civil Rights Division to investigate “deplorable conditions” in Georgia prisons brought on by the coronavirus disease pandemic.

“If the Department of Justice does not intervene, the conditions and loss of life described in this letter will persist,” Southern Center attorney Alison Ganem said. “Over the last three months, SCHR has repeatedly brought the conditions described above to the Department’s attention. The Department has failed to respond in any meaningful way, jeopardizing the lives of incarcerated people and prison staff and resulting in widespread suffering and death.”