Jimmy Iakovos

Jimmy Iakovos is a pseudonym for a writer who is incarcerated in Georgia. It is illegal in some Southern states to earn a living while under a sentence of penal servitude. Writing has enabled Jimmy to endure over 30 years of continuous imprisonment.

GDC Senate Study Committee: What If Prisoners Were Allowed Cigarettes?

In February, Georgia lawmakers created a study committee to think about whether people in the state's prison system, at least…

September 5, 2024

A New Gaza Strip Tobacco Market, and One in US Prisons That’s Getting Old

In early August, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) air-dropped cigarettes over the Gaza Strip. Attached were leaflets bearing messages like:…

August 22, 2024

Good Thing No One Uses Drugs in Prison, or RSAT Might Not Work

Because his conviction involved alcohol, the case plan Alf* was assigned by the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) included a…

August 15, 2024

“Soups Will Cook There”: How Prisons Became Heat Traps by Design

Before the days of modern air-conditioning, homes and businesses in the Southeastern United States were built with 10- to 14-foot…

July 24, 2024

Wellpath, Fleeing GA Prisons Contract, Fails One Last Bid at Extortion

On July 1, three years into its nine-year contract, private health care provider Wellpath will leave behind its 50,000-plus patients…

June 6, 2024

GA Prisons to Get “Additional Meals,” a Bad Fix for the Wrong Problem

On May 7, Governor Brian Kemp (R) signed a $36.1 billion spending plan for the next fiscal year that will…

May 23, 2024

The Lifers Trapped in Georgia’s Parole Crisis Are Watching Senate Bill 586

About a decade ago, people serving life with parole in Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) prisons began to realize we…

April 25, 2024

Georgia Senate to Study Prisons, Just in Case the Problem Isn’t Cell Phones

The Georgia Senate has contemplated the bloodbath unfolding inside its state prisons and concluded that “a study would be beneficial.”…

March 20, 2024

A Wealth of Tobacco in Prison, and a Dearth of Ways We Can Smoke It

Within Georgia Department of Corrections facilities, the contraband tobacco industry is robust enough to support a cottage industry for rolling papers.…

March 13, 2024

For Misdemeanor Poverty, Georgia Would Assign Mandatory Cash Bail

February 29 is Crossover Day in the Georgia General Assembly, with lawmakers clambering over each other to advance their bills…

February 29, 2024