U.S. Marshals to Move 400 Pre-Trial Detainees from Georgia GEO Prison Amid Judicial Backlash
U.S. Marshals will relocate nearly 400 federal pre-trial detainees from GEO Group’s Lovejoy facility to La Salle’s Irwin County center by Oct 31, 2026—sparki...
POLICY WIRE — Atlanta, United States —The U.S. Marshals Service is set to relocate approximately 400 pre-trial detainees from the Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility in Lovejoy, Georgia—a private prison operated by Florida-based GEO Group—to the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, roughly 188 miles south of Atlanta.
The transfer will occur in staggered waves over five weeks, with individuals lacking scheduled court dates moved first; all detainees must be removed from the Lovejoy facility by October 31, 2026, according to internal planning documents.
Pre-trial detention is reserved for defendants whom magistrate judges determine cannot be assured to appear in court under any combination of release conditions—typically those accused of violent crimes, serious drug offenses, gun violations, fraud, or illegal reentry after prior deportation, or those deemed flight risks or threats to witness integrity.
Critics warn the distance will severely impede Atlanta’s federal court operations: Chief Judge Leigh Martin May of the Northern District of Georgia called ending use of RADD “a catastrophe,” citing its proximity to the city’s busiest federal courthouse and ease of access for attorneys, families, and U.S. Marshals personnel.
To reach Atlanta’s courthouse by 8:30 a.m., detainees would need to depart Irwin County by 5:00 a.m.—requiring wake-up times as early as 3:30 a.m.—and returning after a 5:00 p.m. court session would likely mean arrival back at the facility near 9:00 p.m. due to rush-hour traffic.
Natasha Silas, executive director of the Federal Defender Program for the Northern District of Georgia, warned the shift would impose “substantial additional costs on the Judiciary” and undermine constitutionally mandated effective legal representation due to logistical strain on appointed counsel.
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The Irwin County facility is run by Louisiana-based La Salle Corrections, which operates about 18 facilities across Louisiana, Texas, and Georgia and houses more than 13,000 inmates and detainees. It reopened in 2025 after being shuttered amid investigations into human rights abuses.
Silas noted she lacks current data to assess improvements in conditions but emphasized that past concerns were severe enough for the U.S. Marshals Service to discontinue using the site for federal detainees—and added there are no hospitals nearby and no reason to believe conditions have meaningfully improved.
The decision to vacate the Lovejoy facility stems from documented infrastructure failures, including missing tools, holes in cell walls, and malfunctioning locks, according to sources familiar with the Marshals’ internal review.
This marks the latest scrutiny for GEO Group’s Georgia operation: a 2020 Justice Department inspector general audit found chronic staffing shortfalls—including failure to maintain the required 90 percent security staffing level and numerous essential positions vacant for over 120 days—justifying over $3.1 million in unenforced contract deductions.
GEO Group secured its initial 20-year, $650 million contract with the Marshals Service in 2008 to operate the Lovejoy facility. As of 2026, the company holds $894 million in active federal contracts, primarily with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice—even as it prepares to manage newly refurbished immigration detention sites previously closed for abuse findings.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
