The U.S. Department of Justice has been conducting a civil rights investigation of the department for more than a year, and U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff requested a separate criminal probe by the FBI earlier this year. Ossoff asked the FBI to get involved after the AJC’s reporting exposed gang-related sexual assaults and extortion at Pulaski State Prison, Georgia’s second-largest prison for women.

Much of the department’s trouble can be traced to a staffing shortage, created in large measure by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. But, in many cases, poor management decisions and simple neglect have allowed homicides and suicides to become almost daily occurrences, the AJC has found.

Data developed by the AJC showed that 57 Georgia inmates were victims of homicides in 2020 and 2021, nearly tripling the total for 2018-2019. Incomplete data for 2022 shows at least 24 deaths classified as homicides.

At the same time, the AJC has found that 150 inmates have committed suicide since 2018.

Ward’s watch also included the case of Arthur Cofield, who, according to federal authorities, used cellphones to steal $11 million from a California billionaire and turn it into gold coins while incarcerated in what’s supposed to be the department’s toughest facility, the Special Management Unit in Butts County.

Jennifer Bradley, whose son, Carrington Frye, was killed at Macon State Prison in 2020, said Ward’s resignation was overdue. Since her son’s death, Bradley has sued the department and become outspoken in her criticism of it.

“For me, it’s about three years too late,” she said. “I wish he’d resigned a long time ago, when he refused to have a simple conversation with a mother whose son was bleeding out on the floor.”

Kemp appointed Ward in 2019, after he had worked with the department for 27 years, starting as a corrections officer.

“Over those many years, (Ward) has seen all aspects of our prisons and the people impacted by them, most of whom will eventually return to society,” Kemp said in a statement. “That makes him uniquely qualified for the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and I am glad he will continue his public service in this capacity.”

Pamela Dixon, whose daughter is incarcerated in the prison system, said a change of leadership was needed. Earlier this year, Dixon provided the AJC with evidence of how she was extorted for more than $10,000 by gang members at Pulaski State Prison who threatened to harm her daughter if they weren’t paid.

“Hopefully, the next person Gov. Kemp places in that position will show more compassion for the people behind the walls,” she said. “They’re all suffering in one form or another.”

State figures show that in fiscal year 2022, which ended in June, Ward had a base salary of $169,700 a year. Georgia Pardons and Paroles board members make $160,000.

Oliver has served as DJJ commissioner since being appointed by Kemp in 2019. He began his career in law enforcement as a county detention officer, going on to serve as chief of the Social Circle Police Department and then as the city’s deputy city manager.

Our reporting

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has spent the past year investigating Georgia’s Department of Corrections, revealing a prison system in chaos.

A series of stories by investigative reporter Danny Robbins have uncovered how gang members and other violent offenders are brutalizing and sexually assaulting other inmates. Family members are being extorted. Others on the outside have been targeted for violence or robbed. Homicides are carried out with impunity.

Outnumbered and intimidated prison guards haven’t stopped the crimes. Some had schemes of their own, bringing in drugs and other contraband in exchange for money or sex. Others assaulted inmates or, through indifference or neglect, left them to die.

An ex-Marine, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and known to be a suicide risk, was left to languish in a single-man cell, where he wrapped his bedsheet around his neck and killed himself.

The AJC in 2022 revealed conditions that U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff earlier this year called “tragic and wholly unacceptable.”