The U.S. Marshals Service is moving ahead with a plan to transfer hundreds of pretrial detainees from the Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility in Lovejoy to the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, about 190 miles south of the federal courthouse in Atlanta, despite pointed objections from the region's chief federal judge. Leigh Martin May, chief U.S. district judge of the Northern District of Georgia, wrote in an Aug. 12 letter that moving roughly 400 detainees would be a “catastrophe” and called the plan a “terrible idea.”
The transfer plan, reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, would shift roughly 400 federal pretrial detainees away from Clayton County to the Irwin facility. The Marshals Service notified operators that detainees were scheduled to transfer during the week. Stephen Serrao said the Marshals Service had begun canceling its contract for the Lovejoy facility, according to the same report.
The Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility in Lovejoy has held federal detainees for the Marshals Service since 2008. Its operator, GEO Group, provides security, medical care, food, laundry and transportation at the site, and the facility earned initial American Correctional Association accreditation in 2023 with a perfect 100% score, along with accreditation from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care.
Judges, Prosecutors and Defenders Rare United Front
Federal judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys have all come out against the detainee move, an unusual alignment across parts of the justice system that don't often agree. Theodore Herzberg, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, opposes the move, according to CBS News. Natasha Silas, executive director of the Federal Defender Program, said remote proceedings could affect crucial decisions for defendants.
Distance and Family Visits
Moving detainees about 190 miles south could add logistical hurdles for court appearances and family visits.
LaSalle Corrections declined to comment on the transfer when reached by reporters.
The proposed transfer remains contested by judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys.
