Dooly State Prison

Dooly State Prison is a medium-security prison for adult male inmates located in Unadilla, Georgia. It was opened in 1994 and has a maximum capacity of 1,702. 

This facility houses medium-security, general population inmates that may not be suitable for a county prison due to their offense or physical limitations. It provides Medical, Counseling, Education, Recreation, Library, Chapel, Fire Services, Farm Services, and General Work Programs for all inmates assigned. 

It has a fully operational farm that produces fresh vegetables for shipping to state facilities. Dooly State Prison is a Sex Offender Release Site and host Facility for the McEver Probation Detention Center.

Housing at Dooly State Prison consists of nine living units of which the bottom range are 24 triple bunked cells and the top range are doubled-bunked cells. There are 120 beds per dorm and one open living unit with four separate living areas, which contain 368 beds. 

There is one isolation/segregation unit that contains 71 beds. The Fast Track Unit is double bunked and houses 256 beds. This facility also houses a C.E.R.T. Team, a Tactical Squad, and a Fire Station.

All prisoners at Dooly have the right to participate in different kinds of recreational programs offered by the prison. Education is an option and inmates can learn to read and write, as well as earn their GED.

In 1996, eleven prisoners filed a lawsuit against the Dooly State Prison guards. They alleged that the guards, “engaged in sadistic and degrading abuse.” However, the Prison Litigation Reform Act states that, “no federal action may be brought by a prisoner for mental or emotional injury suffered while in custody without a prior showing of physical injury.” So, the lawsuit was rejected in an “8-4 ruling” by the federal appeals court in Atlanta.

In February 2014, inmate Mitchell Lavern Ludyㄧwho was serving a life sentence for murderㄧfiled a lawsuit against Dooly State Prison for $16 million stating that he was denied kosher food during Passover.  In May 2016, he signed an agreement to settle the case for $200.

In February 2016, Dooly was one of nine Georgia state prisons implicated in an FBI sting operation. This operation led to the indictment of 46 correctional officers on federal charges and ten were Dooly State Prison employees. During the raid, FBI officers found contraband inside the prison, such as: cellphones, weapons and drugs, and most of it was illegally brought inside the prison by the officers.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

The visiting days and hours at Dooly State Prison are Saturdays, Sundays, and state holidays from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM.

You must fill out an application and be approved by the Georgia Department of Corrections before you can visit an inmate at Dooly State Prison. For complete details about the visiting process, click here.

All visitors, age 16 and over, must have a photo ID to visit an inmate. 

The only items you can bring to a visit are an identification card, car keys, and money. No food or drink can be brought into the facility from the outside other than bottled formula or store-bought products for babies. 

You are allowed to bring a maximum of twenty dollars ($20.00) in coins to be used for the vending machines. Musical instruments, radios, pets, cameras, or electronic devices are not allowed in the visiting area. 

All visitors are subject to a preliminary search by electronic surveillance instruments (metal detectors, etc.). All items brought into the facility by a visitor will be searched by officers assigned to the visitation area.

Visitors must wear appropriate clothing. Shoes are required at all times for visitors, including children if they are able to walk or stand. 

Male visitors are required to wear shirts and full-length trousers. Females may wear trousers, or if a female visitor wears a dress, skirt or other similar garment, it may NOT be more than two (2) inches above the knees. Furthermore, all female visitors must wear undergarments such as bras, panties, and slips. 

Inappropriate clothing includes, but is not limited to:  

• Dresses or tops with thin straps which expose shoulders or chest area in any manner
• Tube tops or halters of any type
• Any type of clothing which reveals the stomach or midriff area
• Any type of clothing that is made of sheer or transparent material
• Shorts of any kind or any kind of slacks that are above the knee (twelve years old and under may wear shorts)
• Male visitors are not permitted to wear tank tops or short tops of any kind, nor see-through tops made of net or mesh webbing. 
• Shorts are not permitted (children twelve 12 years old and under may wear shorts)
• Any other type of clothing that is suggestive or revealing in any way is prohibited

Video Visits

Dooly State Prison does offer video visits through JPay. You must have a JPay account, and the video visit can last up to 30 minutes. The fee for a 30-minute video visit is $3.95.

Remember to include the inmate’s full name and inmate ID number on all correspondence. Be careful what you mail to an inmate because all mail is monitored by prison staff. It’s best to just keep it simple with regular paper, a regular envelope, and pics of family and friends. 

You can send a package to an inmate through the George Inmate Package Program. You can also send and receive videograms and emails through JPay, which cost anywhere between one and three stamps each.

How to Call an Inmate

You can’t call an inmate at Dooly State Prison, but they do have access to phones during approved hours. For complete details on how to call an inmate in Georgia, please click here.

How to Send Money

JPay Options

• Online or Mobile App: To send an inmate money with your credit or debit card, visit JPay.com or download the JPay Mobile App that is available at the Apple App Store (for iPhones) and Google Play (for Android phones).
• By phone: Call (800) 574-5729 to talk with a live JPay call center agent and send money with a debit or credit card. 
• Mail a money orderㅡmade payable to JPayㅡwith a deposit slip to:

JPay
P.O. Box 260010
Hollywood, FL 33026

A money order deposit slip is available here.

Moneygram

If you would like to use cash, visit a MoneyGram location in person and use receive code 6857. MoneyGram locations include all Walmarts and CVS Pharmacies. 

Programs For Inmates

WORK DETAILS:

Firefighter Services, Farm Services, Recycling, Building and Outside Grounds, Outside Maintenance, Outside Paint , Georgia National Fairgrounds, City of Warner Robins, Crisp County, Georgia State Patrol for Cordele and Perry.

PROGRAMS:

Academic: General Education Diploma, Adult Basic Education, Literacy Remedial

Counseling: Individual and Group Counseling, Sex Offender Psycho-Educational Program, 

Moral Recognition Therapy, Family Violence, Thinking for a Change, Lifers, Matrix Relapse Prevention, Matrix Recovery Skills, Ray of Hope, Re-entry Skills Building, and TOPPSTEP.

Recreation: General Recreation

Religious Activities: Various Worship Services

Vocational/OJT: Food Service, Laundry, Painter, Warehouse, Sanitation, Horticulture, Maintenance Repair, Mechanic Helper, Electrical Helper, Plumber Helper, Recycling, and General Clerk Aide for Library/Education.

Pictures of Dooly State Prison

Careers at Dooly State Prison

Dooly State Prison is located in the heart of Georgia, Exit 122 off I-75. Their mission is to work as a teamㄧconsistently and diligentlyㄧto provide the skills and training for offenders to return home and be productive citizens while making communities safe again. 

There is a fully-functioning farm at the facility. The offenders participate in numerous OJT programs and a bee keeping vocational program. This is a facility with heart and they are committed to the staff’s goals and needs. The goal is to reach out to positive, motivated individuals seeking an exciting career that builds success in a unified setting.

"Dooly State Prison is considered a family, not an organization. We are committed to the success of our staff. This is accomplished through training, educating, and meeting the needs of our people. It is a great place to work and to become promoted up through the ranks. We have had several Wardens come through the ranks from our facility of which we are very proud. We are making a difference and are proud of it. We serve the public with purpose. Come join our team,” says a current employee.

If you are interested in a job at Dooly State Prison, click here.