JACKSON, Ga. — They arrive by the busload each Tuesday and Thursday, dozens of new inmates entering Georgia's prison system.
The Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, the state's biggest, houses about 2,100 male inmates on a wooded, 900-acre campus about 50 miles south of Atlanta. A warden and three deputy wardens oversee more than 600 employees.
When inmates arrive, their possessions are inventoried. Then they shower and don white jumpsuits. They sit in barber chairs while permanent inmates give them close haircuts, then pose for an ID photo.
Guards immediately work to instill order and discipline. Even the newest arrivals — some still dripping from showers and others mid-haircut — know what to do when the warden appears with guests.
"Sir, good morning, sir. Ma'am, good morning, ma'am," they shout in unison following a guard's prompt.
Clean, shorn and photographed, they're led to a sorting area ringed by small offices where counselors and medical professionals interview the new arrivals to determine where they belong.
Some are nervous and quiet, this being their first trip. Others know the routine and sometimes cause trouble.
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The cinderblock walls in the hallways in the main part of the prison are painted drab shades of gray and beige. The linoleum floors have been buffed to an impressive shine by inmate laborers, and a faint smell of cleaning chemicals lingers in the air. Murals painted by inmates provide splashes of color, many serving as reminders of their right to not be sexually assaulted.
It's loud and busy. Heavy metal gates clank open and shut. Inmates shuffle in single-file lines, guided by just a few guards. Chatter, shouts and the crackling of radios echo with nothing soft in sight to absorb the sound.
When visitors approach, inmates in the hallways turn their backs and stand close to the walls. That makes it easy for guards to spot a guy who steps out of line.