Georgia State Prison

Georgia State Prison is the main maximum security facility in the state of Georgia. Located on Georgia Highway 147 in unincorporated Tattnall County, outside of Reidsville, It is a part of the Georgia Department of Corrections. "GSP" houses approximately 1550 inmates. The current warden is Robert Toole. The prison was designed by Tucker & Howell in the 1930s. The modern classic architecture included a frieze by Julian Harris titled Rehabilitation depicting trades and occupations. [3] Many renovations were made. The expanding crime rate has added a multitude of buildings that span from the original structure. It has all security levels (Trusty to Maximum including Hi-Maximum) inmates. This prison houses some of the most dangerous inmates in the State of Georgia. The prison has counseling programs aimed at reducing the recidivism rate that rival many in the country. Georgia State Prison served as a death row prison. The skeletal remains of an electric chair can still be found in the museum on the upper floors of the main building, as well as prison documents containing names, authorizations, and last statements of the prisoners. In the 1940s and 1950s, volunteers were offered $25 to flip the switches which would start the flow of electricity and eventually lead to the death of the prisoner. Inmates would often be doused with saltwater to speed up their deaths, though it often took up to 10 minutes for them to reach their demise. Male death row inmates are now housed at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison (GD&CP) near Jackson, GA in Butts County.