Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison

Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison is a prison for adult male inmates located near Jackson, Georgia. It can house a maximum of 2,487 inmates. The mission of the facility is to ensure public safety and effectively house offenders while operating a safe and secure facility. 

This prison conducts diagnostic processing for male offenders, houses offenders assigned to the 90-Day (S.T.E.P -Segregated Transition Educated Program), house offenders Under Death Sentence (UDS), and carries out state ordered executions. It also houses a Special Management Unit (SMU), consisting of 192 beds.

The housing consists of eight cell blocks containing both double-bunked and single-bunked cells. There are also seven dormitories, 256 general population inmates, medical unit, and a 17-bed S.T.E.P (Segregated Transition Education Unit) for sex offenders who are close to being released. This facility also houses a C.E.R.T. Team, Tactical Squad, and a Fire Station.

This facility is the central hub where sentenced felons begin the process of being admitted into the Georgia State Correctional System. Numerous county jails are paid for by the state to house sentenced felons until space becomes available in the prison system. 

Sentenced felons may spend years in local jails until housing space becomes available in the state prison system. While at GDCP, inmates are either in the process of being classified and tested, or they are assigned as a "permanent." 

Inmates who are 'permanents' will serve their entire sentence at the GDCP, while the remainder of inmates will be tested and then moved to other prisons based on their classifications.

The Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison is the largest prison in the state, and it holds the state execution chamber as well as Georgia’s death row for male inmates. 

The "Death House" is an isolated structure where state ordered executions are carried out. The "house" is a single-entrance fortified building, accessed only through the prison yard. Upon entry to the Death House, witnesses to executions are immediately put in an observation room, approximately 20' X 20', with three 16' long wooden benches to seat them. 

When seated, a glass window is seen directly in front of the first row of benches. An access door to the left of the viewing window leads to the execution room. Immediately to the right of the observation room (but still within it) is a storage area that houses the non-functional electric chair (nicknamed "Old Sparky") that was used before the implementation of lethal injection.

The 50th convicted killer executed in Georgia since 1973 was Roy Willard Blankenship on June 23, 2011; it was the first execution carried out using a new sedative, pentobarbital, replacing sodium thiopental. 

In March 2011, agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized Georgia's supply of sodium thiopental, which attorneys for several death row inmates said Georgia had improperly imported from a pharmacy operating out of the back of a driving school in England. Hospira Inc. of Illinois, the only U.S. company that manufactured sodium thiopental, said in January it would stop making the drug after Italy objected because the European Union has banned the export of drugs used for death penalty.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

The visiting days and hours at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison are as follows:

Diagnostic Inmates:
DAYS: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday
HOURS: 9:00AM - 1:00PM
Diagnostic offenders cannot receive visits until they have been at GDCP for 60 days. Only immediate family members are allowed to visit. 

TIER III -STEP Program Offenders:
DAYS: Wednesdays and Fridays
HOURS: 9:00am-11:00am, 11:00am-1:00pm, 1:00pm-3:00pm
All visits for the offenders assigned to the STEP Program must be scheduled in advance. Please contact the facility for additional scheduling information. 

UDS & SMU Inmates:
DAYS: Saturdays, Sundays, and State Holidays
HOURS: 9:00AM - 3:00PM

General Population Inmates:
DAYS: Saturdays, Sundays, and State Holidays
HOURS: 9:00AM - 3:00PM

ALL OTHERS:
DAYS: Saturdays, Sundays, and State Holidays
HOURS: 9:00AM - 3:00PM

Cancellation of visitation will occur the day before an execution. If an execution is stayed, visitation will be canceled as long as an execution order is active. 

You must fill out an application and be approved by the Georgia Department of Corrections before you can visit an inmate at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification 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

Georgia Diagnostic and Classification 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 Georgia Diagnostic and Classification 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

You must use JPay or MoneyGram to send money to an inmate at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison. The fees for this service vary based on which method you use and the amount of money you are sending.

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

Fire Station, General & Grounds Maintenance, Waste Water, Power House, Canine, and Laundry details.

PROGRAMS:

• Academic: General Education Diploma, Remedial, Literacy, Adult Basic Education, OJT
• Counseling: Individual and Group Counseling, Sex Offender Psycho-Educational Program (SOPP), Moral Reconation Therapy, Family Violence, Thinking for a Change, Lifers Group, Matrix Relapse Prevention, Matrix Recovery Skills, Ray of Hope, Re-Entry Skills Building, TOPPSTEP, AA, Problem Solving, Basic Computer Operations and a Career Center
• Recreation: General Recreation
• Religious Activities: Various Worship Services, Study Groups, Pastoral Counseling

Pictures of Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison

Careers at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison

If you are interested in a job at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison, click here. Current employees say that the facility “is Guided by Dedication, Courage, and Professionalism.”