The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice has agreed to pay $4.5 million to the parents of a juvenile who died in a “fight game,” orchestrated in part by staff, while in custody.
Background
It happened at the Waycross Juvenile Justice facility in Ware County – a facility run by the state – in August 2022. Thomas Hicks, a juvenile correctional officer at the facility, reportedly organized and encouraged a fight between two juveniles in DJJ custody. According to the lawsuit filed against GDJJ, Hicks, who held the rank of sergeant, unlocked a closet and entered it with the two juveniles, purportedly to escape surveillance footage.
During the fight, a juvenile inmate struck the victim in the neck, causing the victim to lose consciousness and fall to the ground.
“Instead of immediately rendering medical attention, or seeking medical attention, the guard and other juveniles carried the unconscious body from the closet into the shower where the guard splashed water on the victim and slapped him in the face, in an effort to “wake him up.”
No calls were made to 911 for at least ten minutes, according to documents, and the victim was eventually taken to a local hospital. Later in the day, he was airlifted to Memorial Hospital in Savannah where he died two days later.
Medical records indicate he died from a vertebral artery dissection, a result of the neck trauma sustained during the fight.
On August 18, 2022, a juvenile complaint for involuntary manslaughter was brought by the GBI for the juvenile involved in the fight that resulted in the death of the victim.
DJJ Employment and DJJ Leadership
One week after the fight and 5 days after the victim passed away, Sergeant Thomas Hicks was arrested by the GBI and charged with two counts of Cruelty to Children, one count of Second Degree Murder, and a Violation of Oath of Office. He was also fired from DJJ.
Hicks was indicted in July 2023 on six felony counts, including Murder (2nd degree), one count of Cruelty to Children, three counts of Influencing a Witness, and one count of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer. The Influencing a Witness charges stem from Hicks’ alleged attempts to prevent juvenile detainees from speaking with law enforcement about the case, to including instructing the juveniles to lie about the circumstances of the death.
The case has still not been adjudicated and remains pending as of October 21, 2026. Court records show Hicks appeared in court earlier in October and that his attorney is challenging the indictment.
Tyrone Oliver was Commissioner of GDJJ at the time of the “game fight” and, in a statement on August 16, 2022, said:
The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is deeply saddened by the passing of one of our youths. We send our heartfelt condolence to the youth’s family, friends, and loved ones, and they remain in our thoughts and prayers. Upon learning this afternoon of the findings of the GBI investigation, I immediately terminated Mr. Thomas Hicks from employment with the Department. The actions of Mr. Hicks are deplorable and do not represent the core values of this agency.
DJJ takes the responsibility of operating safe facilities for youth and staff seriously. Should there be any evidence of staff or youth misconduct or criminal activity, we will take all appropriate measures.
In December 2022, Kemp announced that he would be appointing Oliver as head of the Georgia Department of Corrections.
Lawsuit
A lawsuit was filed against Thomas Hicks, then-Director of Waycross RYDC Jimmy Moore, and the Georgia Department of Justice in June 2023.
The suit contended that Moore was aware the fights were “regularly taking place, but failed to stop this practice.”
The suit claimed 8th Amendment violations, specifically that the victim’s constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment were violated and that Hicks delayed emergency medical care. The DJJ, the suit claimed, was vicariously responsible for the actions of its employees.
More than three years after the suit was filed, the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice agreed to pay the juvenile’s parents $4.5 million to settle the wrongful death case in October 2026.
Attorneys Brent Savage Jr. and Greg Gilluly handled the civil litigation on behalf of the family.
Not the First Fight, Correctional Officers Described It as “Horseplay.”
Savage, Turner, Pinckney, Savage, Sprouse & Gilluly, the firm that represented the family of the victim, said in a news release that the incident was not isolated and that RYDC correctional officers “had arranged, permitted, and encouraged juvenile inmates to fight one another on multiple occasions.”
“Instead of providing these children with “specialized services designed to equip [the kids] with the social, intellectual, and emotional tools they will need as adults,” as promised in the DJJ mission statement, employees exploited the kids by using them as a form of entertainment,” the press release said.
While some correctional officers, during the course of the investigation, described the “fight game” as “horse play,” it ultimately Some officers reportedly characterized the fights as “horseplay.”
Violence has continued at DJJ facilities. In March 2026, an independent report detailed what one detainee described as “very dangerous – people fighting 24/7.”
