An inmate brutally attacked inside Smith State Prison is suing the Georgia Department of Corrections and some of its staff, alleging that the prison failed to provide medical care, established an environment that facilitated the violence, and left him in solitary confinement for months following the attack.
The 169-page lawsuit, brought forward by George Luckett, names GDC Commissioner Tyrone Oliver, Director of Engineering & Construction Services for GDC Jamie Clark, former Smith SP Warden Brian Adams, current Smith SP Warden Jacob Beasley, Smith SP Unit Manager Kathy Martin, and the Georgia Department of Corrections. All of the GDC employees are being sued in their individual capacities.
Specifically, it contends that Luckett’s rights were violated by the unsafe prison conditions, deliberate indifference, deliberate indifference to serious medical needs, cruel and unusual punishment, and supervisory liability.
Luckett has been incarcerated since 2009 and is serving a sentence for a 2007 Armed Robbery in Fulton County.
April 28, 2023 Incident
The basis of the lawsuit stems from an incident in which Luckett says he was assaulted by other inmates and then suffered prolonged pain and suffering as well as worsened injuries.
On April 28, 2023, Luckett was walking from the kitchen to the dorm with two others when they were attacked by several other inmates and stabbed multiple times with makeshift sharpened weapons believed to have been made from parts of locker boxes, vents in the cells, beds, and other crumbling infrastructure.
Luckett suffered 14 stab wounds on his body, a left orbital floor fracture, and a maxillary sinus fracture. He also had a complex laceration on his left eyelid.
The suit contends that GDC staff did not render aid to Luckett for the 30-35 minutes, despite becoming aware of his life-threatening injuries and him being covered in blood. “Medical attention was only provided to [Luckett] once the EMS personnel arrived and it was provided by EMTs,” the lawsuit reads. Two others were airlifted to area hospitals.
Luckett’s condition reportedly worsened while he was at the hospital where he reported he could not see out of his left eye, he began coughing up blood, and reported extreme pain. Luckett also had a laceration to the back of the skull which required staples.
After being treated at the hospital, Luckett was returned to Smith SP with directions for follow-up care. He was placed in solitary confinement. The suit, however, states that Luckett received no medical attention at least until May 17, 2023. A Unit Manager told Luckett he couldn’t go to medical to have his stitches taken out because of lack of staff. It was not until a nurse doing ‘pill call’ saw Luckett’s stitches stuck in his eyelid that she called for him to go to medical.
Luckett continued to cough up blood, was denied follow-up appointments to the eye specialist ordered as a result of the attack, and continued to be denied care through September 2023. Luckett needed surgery to avoid further vision loss, but medical care was not provided. He was in solitary confinement the entire time.
The suit also states that:
- GDC told the media that ‘no weapons were involved in the attack’ even though makeshift sharpened blades were used.
- Unit Manager Kathy Martin made remarks to Luckett like “If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be living” and “You know we don’t have any officers, Luckett. You living, You’ll be alright.”
- Former Warden Adams and current Warden Beasley were aware of the substantial risk of danger the Smith State Prison posed to inmates, but they had been deliberately indifferent to such risks.
- “Poor supervision, prison maintenance, and security practices, caused by the supervision and actions of Defendant Adams and Defendant Beasley to a large amount of contraband, including weapons and drugs, and unsafe facilities. These failures led to the Attack onto Plaintiff. Defendant Adams and Defendant Beasley were aware of the danger these conditions pose to incarcerated people but failed to take adequate action to make Smith State Prison safe.
- Unmaintained parts of Smith State Prison, caused by the supervision of Defendant Adams and Defendant Beasley, jeopardized inmate safety and provided the makeshift weapons for the Attack onto Plaintiff.”
- The conditions had deteriorated so much that at Smith State Prison, inmates would travel through the walls and through the ceilings. Inmates would go on top of the building through holes in the ceiling in order to smuggle contraband.
- Planned housing searches were not conducted with necessary frequency, and searches of incarcerated people, including pat searches, were not conducted appropriately.
Uncontrolled Violence at Smith State Prison
There were at least 17 homicides at Smith State Prison between 2020 and 2023.
There was a spike in violence at the facility leading up to the attack on Luckett.
- On March 6, 2023, an inmate-on-inmate assault occurred which resulted in serious injury and outside medical treatment. The incident involved a make-shift knife. The incident was not forwarded for investigation.
- On March 9, 2023, an inmate-on-inmate assault occurred which resulted in serious injury and outside medical treatment. The victim was assaulted by unknown assailants. The incident was not forwarded for investigation.
- On March 13, 2023, an inmate-on-inmate assault occurred which resulted in serious injury and outside medical treatment. This inmate was stabbed by an unknown assailant and the weapon was not recovered. The incident was not forwarded for investigation.
- On March 15, 2023, an inmate-on-inmate assault occurred which resulted in serious injury and outside medical treatment. The incident was not forwarded for investigation.
- On March 17, 2023, an inmate-on-inmate assault occurred which resulted in serious injury. The incident was not forwarded for investigation.
- On March 18, 2023, a fight occurred which resulted in serious injury and outside medical treatment. The fight involved multiple inmates and makeshift weapons. The incident was not forwarded for investigation.
- On March 23, 2023, an inmate-on-inmate assault occurred which resulted in serious injury and outside medical treatment. The victim was bleeding about the head and face and was attacked by multiple unknown assailants. The incident was not forwarded for investigation.
- On April 1, 2023, an inmate-on-inmate assault occurred resulting in i. injuries and a hospital transport. The incident was not forwarded for investigation.
- On April 1, 2023, an inmate-on-inmate assault occurred resulting in injuries. The assault involved a man-made weapon. The incident was not forwarded for investigation.
- On April 2, 2023, an inmate-on-inmate assault occurred which resulted in serious injury and outside medical treatment. The assault occurred while no guards were around and the attacker’s identity is unknown. The incident was not forwarded for investigation.
- On April 7, 2023, an inmate-on-inmate assault occurred which resulted in serious injury and outside medical treatment. The incident was not forwarded for investigation.
Adams Named Despite Being Terminated
Though Adams was no longer employed at the time of the assault, the lawsuit names former Warden Brian Adams because of his ‘unconstitutional management’ of the facility and for “his actions and policies and supervision of law enforcement personnel under his control and for establishing a policy or pattern of widespread constitutional deprivations at Smith State Prison.”
“While Defendant Adams was no longer the warden at the time of Plaintiff’s Attack, the harms created by his illegal smuggling activity had not been corrected, and this in part caused Plaintiff’s Attack and injuries,” the lawsuit reads.
The suit also referenced Adams’ arrest and the free flow of contraband, which facilitated the murder of 88-year-old Bobby Kicklighter in Glennville, Jerry Lee Davis in Wayne County, and Jessica Gerling in Ludowici.
Suit for Damages
The suit seeks a jury trial, though the ante-litem notice provided to the state prior to the filing of the suit sought $1 million in damages. According to paperwork with the Georgia Department of Corrections, the incident was not captured on video. It is classified as a ‘fight/disruptive event.’
