Rick Jacobs
Pippa Lamont Hall-Jackson (Department of Corrections photo)
DOC Commissioner Brian Owens announced Wednesday that Rick Jacobs, a former Rome police officer and Rome native, is the new warden of Hays State Prison.
The change came after an inmate being transferred from the facility died when he was stabbed to death by another inmate at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation officials said Pippa Lamont Hall-Jackson, 19, was killed Tuesday after he was taken to the Central Georgia facility. Hall-Jackson was serving a 20-year sentence for aggravated assault in Dekalb County.
No charges have been filed, but GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang said she anticipates warrants being issued within a couple of days.
Jacobs’ appointment is one of the ways state lawmakers and the DOC are trying to solve the problems that have been occurring at the close security facility.
Three other Hays State inmates have been killed in the last two months. And two correctional officers who work at the facility were assaulted by inmates on Jan. 27, receiving minor injuries.
“Our office is working closely with the Department during the transition of management at Hays State Prison,” said Gov. Nathan Deal. “We will continue to work alongside the agency until the transition is complete.”
State Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, said he knows replacing the warden alone is not going to solve all of the issues at Hays.
“Rick has many years of experience … and is certainly going to have a challenge,” said Hufstetler, a former Floyd County commissioner and vice chairman of the Senate state and local government operations committee.
“He’s got a lot of issues there to deal with, and we want to provide him with all of the help we can,” Hufstetler said.
Jacobs was the warden at Hays State from January to July 2010 before being named north area field operations manager for the Department of Corrections. Clay Tatum, the warden since July 2010, is pending reassignment within the department, according to DOC spokeswoman Gwendolyn Hogan.
“I look forward to Rick Jacobs coming back and taking over Hays,” Hufstetler said. “My recollection is, Hays was very well-run under his leadership.”
As acting warden, Jacobs will be responsible for overseeing approximately 350 staff members and approximately 1,460 male inmates.
“Rick is an exceptional leader and dedicated team member,” said Owens. “He has an extensive knowledge of corrections and I am confident that his leadership skills will benefit the staff and offenders of Hays State Prison,”
Hufstetler said he is planning to meet with DOC officials again today to discuss how to deal with other security issues at the facility.
Inmate Nathaniel Reynolds, 30, died Jan. 18. Two other inmates were charged with his murder. Damien McClain was killed in a fight in a prison cell on Dec. 26, 2012, and Derrick Stubbs was found dead while in protective custody four days earlier.
Hays State Prison houses male offenders with behavioral problems that cannot be addressed at other prisons and Mental Health Level II offenders.
Staff Writer Kim Sloan contributed to this report.
Previously posted:
A fourth inmate from Hays State Prison died Tuesday at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, the Georgia Department of Corrections has confirmed.
The GBI has been called in to investigate and calls have been made to GBI spokesman John Bankhead.
The Chattanooga Times-Free Press is reporting the inmate was transferring to another prison and was killed by another Hays prison inmate.
Three other Hays State inmates have been killed recently. Nathaniel Reynolds, 30, died Jan. 18. Two men have been charged with his murder. Damien McClain was killed in a fight in a prison cell on Dec. 26, and Derrick Stubbs was found dead while in protective custody on Dec. 22.
Hays State Prison is a close security facility in Trion that houses male offenders with behavioral problems that cannot be addressed at other prisons and Mental Health Level II offenders.
Killing someone means you get private quarters for a while, a bigger name for yourself, and another life sentence. Big deal.
There are only two ways to control a population like the one at Hays. Fear or total segregation of inmates. There are prisons that have total segregation in other parts of the country, but they are very expensive.
Now the State of Georgia has brought in a man who was a previous warden at Hays. When he was there, the locks were broken on inmate cells and he did nothing to fix it. He has a way with the media and he knows what has to be said and done to shut current employees up. He knows just the right way to sweep this under the carpet and he will. Can you say "cover-up"?
All of the problems currently at Hays go all the way back to the time “Slick Rick” was warden not so long ago. The locks were broke (and had been for 2 years), and the inmates didn't sleep in the correct cells then, either. True that it’s worse now, but it was still pretty dang bad when Jacobs was warden.
Three reasons that this is happening is: 1. Jacobs is an expert at dealing with the press (he’s called Slick Rick for a reason), 2. They want Jacobs to “plug the leaks” and stop people from talking to the press, and 3., they simply want to give the appearance they are doing something.
The problem isn’t as simple as replacing a warden. Tatum is a good, experienced, decent Warden. Probably the best at Hays since Truett Goodwin or Johnny Sikes years ago.
Instead of conveniently blaming the warden, what about taking a look at the Deputy Warden? They screwed over the previous Deputy Warden because this guy wanted to be closer to Home. He lives in Cartersville, but was working in Buford. He is the Little brother of Tennessee’s Department of Corrections Commissioner, who left this state to head that department after serving for many years as the number 2 man in Georgia’s Department of Corrections.
This deputy warden is required by SOPs to make daily visits to the buildings but will only go once every two weeks. It was this Deputy Warden who went behind Tatum’s back and told every inmate in the prison that a big shakedown involving hundreds of squad members was coming in two days, and they better hide their cell phones/drugs/weapons and make the prison administration (him) look good if they wanted pizza and KFC.
The shakedown happened, van loads of Tennessee DOC wardens, sent by his big brother, arrived, to learn how we do it here in Georgia. Only problem was it was completely staged. Inmates warned ahead of time, and bribed by pizza resulted in nothing being found, which presented the false impression that Hays State Prison was free of contraband, and truly deserving of the “Facility of the Year” award from Commissioner Brian Owens. Don’t believe that this happened? Ask ANYONE who works there!! Money wasted, and nothing accomplished other than impressing the small fraction of the TN Wardens who were too dumb to recognize it all as smoke and mirrors.
Same Deputy Warden has been involved in a lot of questionable uses of force, but he has obvious connections (his big brother in TN, and big brother’s BFF current Assistant Commissioner Ward). It’s often stated that he’s “untouchable.” He’s cussed officers, been recorded, shoved female secretaries, etc, but nothing has been done to him.
The problems at Hays State Prison have been in the making since James Donald became commissioner. To many facilities were closed, and the end result was GA DOC could no longer spread out all of the gang members across the state. Now, they are all concentrated in a few Prisons (Hays SP, GDCP, Smith SP). No wonder these places are war zones.
Everyone will admit that Jacobs is smooth, but there is nothing about Tatum’s abilities that were lacking. His hands were tied and he had the misfortune to work for a dirty department in a war zone of a prison with a thug deputy warden that would disrespect and undermine him every step of the way.
Last Thursday, they told us all that the locks in A Building were fixed. 45 minutes later, the inmates in that dorm were exiting their cell, at will, and it was obvious to all that locks weren't fixed as previously stated. They lie.
I was shopping in Wal Mart across from the prison, and although I wasn’t tying to do this, I overheard the conversations of a lot of shoppers. One older guy was talking about two inmates the state plans to execute this month. He said “Hell, don’t send ‘em to death row. Send ‘em to Hays! They end up just as dead, and a lot sooner.” I don’t agree with that, but it shows the people in general just don’t care about dead prisoners. He was also talking about how Hays and corrections won't admit that someone had died, and they don't often tell the truth.
A young man in the prison uniform was standing in line at the Subway, and he told me that they had been working for a long time, but they couldn’t fix the locks, and they were going to have to spend a whole bunch of money and it was going to take a lot longer than what they wanted to admit. My wife asked him what the problem was and he said the problem is” they just don’t care about the officers that work those buildings. They spent all their money remodeling the new headquarters at Forsyth.” This young man also told me that the commissioner had just bought 29 new red and white buses to transport inmates but the up keep of the prison was neglected to the point that they can't even keep the inmates locked in a cell.
I think the governor needs to step in and give orders to fix the problems, and if the commissioner can’t fix the problems, it’s time to start firing some people. Start at the top, and work down. These young guards don’t have what they need to do their job and stay safe. If they can’t fix the problems, shut that prison down, and move those inmates to Atlanta in someone else’s back yard!