Ware State Prison in Waycross, Georgia has gone on lockdown after a late Saturday night-into-very early Sunday morning disturbance that has reportedly left at least five people injured.
The south Georgia prison has been trending on Twitter for much of the night and following this morning after thousands of posts revealed uncertainty about the incident itself, as well as concern over allegedly inhumane conditions within the prison amid the ongoing spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Related: Lori Loughlin Is ‘Scared To Death’ About Catching Coronavirus In Prison
According to CNN, Georgia Department of Corrections spokeswoman Joan Heath said that two inmates and three staff members suffered “minor non life-threatening injuries,” and that the cause of the disturbance itself was still being investigated. The GDC did note that the disturbance was “caused by inmates,” though they were tight-lipped about details beyond that.
The original incident started at around 10:45 pm ET on Saturday night, and though media reports are not clear on the timeline of events from there, Heath claims the prison itself was fully locked down around 1:00 am ET. Whatever altercation took place was serious enough that officers with the Waycross Police Department and the local county Sheriff’s Office were brought in to assist corrections officers in trying to maintain and restore order.
Whatever the case was, Heath claims the end result involved officers using “non-lethal ammunition” against inmates until “the incident was brought under control, with “no major damage to the facility” being reported.
Social Media Tells A Different Story…
Though the Georgia Department of Corrections may stand firm with Heath’s media updates, local social media users suggest a more serious event took place at the prison. For one, a person who apparently lives very near the prison took to Twitter in an interesting thread to explain the situation surrounding a power outage, the apparent inmate revolt, and the aftermath (see below, GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING for some videos containing injuries and blood):
Late last night around 10:20-10:30 pm power went out in a vast amount of Ware County. No reason given except a “main line blew.” That’s all we were told. A huge black out. My power didn’t come back on until 11:15.
— rye (riley) ✨ (@ryeohmy) August 2, 2020
According to many posts, some even by inmates’ family members, the inmates weren’t being fed. Air circulation was being cut off. Some couldn’t take showers for days. Tensions were high due to another inmate dying two weeks ago.
— rye (riley) ✨ (@ryeohmy) August 2, 2020
Inmates have been complaining for weeks. No one has listened. COs are willing to come forward about the Warden, who’s been a ringleader in the neglect and mistreatment of these inmates. pic.twitter.com/EWEJujqy2a
— rye (riley) ✨ (@ryeohmy) August 2, 2020
TW:// BLOOD pic.twitter.com/1IZl7Wtx2A
— rye (riley) ✨ (@ryeohmy) August 2, 2020
Wow…
Other social media users reported upon hearing about still more alleged violence going on in the prison, as well as fires being started and inmates allegedly revolting en masse to take over sections of the complex.
One user explained how prisoners had apparently long been fed up with mistreatment within the south Georgia prison, noting how her own brother was reportedly suffering within the walls of the complex for months:
This is my brother writing me back in May from Ware State Prison about how he was being treated. My mom & I called up there & kept receiving different lies from different people pic.twitter.com/moRBsywoWX
— Tabba (@Tierra_Xclusive) August 2, 2020
Serious, serious stuff.
Still other users allege there’s been a long-standing pattern of violence and neglect at the prison, as you can see (below):
Ware State Prison inamtes claimed on one of the videos that the prison had been on lockdown since Monday and tensions had been heightened by the coronavirus. Two people incarcerated have died of covid19, while 22 inmates and 32 employees have tested positive, GDOC records show.
— Blake Daniel (@danielforvotes) August 2, 2020
Prisons all over the country are dealing with coronavirus concerns, as the pandemic continues its spread almost unabated into every corner of American life.
Whatever is going on at Ware State Prison, here’s hoping things get resolved as peacefully as possible. Such scary stuff…