Changes Coming To Ga. Solitary Unit Called One Of ‘Harshest And Most Draconian’ In US

Prisoners in 2011 move through the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification state prison in Jackson. As part of a federal settlement between the state and lawyers for two men in the Special Management Unit, which is not shown, limits will be placed on how long people can be confined in solitary confinement.

David Goldman / Associated Press file

People held in solitary confinement at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification state prison in Jackson, called the Special Management Unit (SMU), will be allowed more time outside.

Limits will be placed on how long people can be confined, by themselves, in 7-by-13.5-foot cells that make up the Middle Georgia prison’s solitary unit, and those held in the unit will have access to computer tablets and a library.

All of these reforms are part of a federal settlement between the state and lawyers for two men, Robert Watkins and Timothy Gumm. The settlement pointed to a broader shift in the Georgia Department of Corrections’ (DOC) approach to solitary confinement.