‘Disgusting and inhumane’: Recent grand jury inspection shows longstanding issues at Bibb jail

A little more than a week before Breele Johnson was killed in a brawl between inmates in the Bibb County jail, grand jurors who had inspected the lockup noted problems including cell block doors in need of repair, people sleeping on mats and cots in the common area due to overcrowding, broken windows, the permeating stench of urine and “disgusting and inhumane conditions.” 

The grand jury’s findings, which were filed in Bibb Superior court on June 11 after the jail inspection on May 27, echo the findings of grand juries in annual inspections since 2021. 

The jail was poorly lit, “making it difficult to see the inmates from the control room causing safety concerns,” according to the grand jury presentation. The grand jury also noted drainage issues, “unknown liquid substances on the ground,” cleaning supplies left unattended, broken windows, inmates without mats or blankets and a loose stair on a stairway connecting two cell blocks. 

The grand jury recommended the county prioritize building a new annex to replace the older part of the jail built in 1979. The newest part of the jail was built in 2007.

Three days after the grand jury inspection, but before it became public record, dozens of people rallied outside the lockup between Oglethorpe and Hazel streets on May 30 to protest the inhumane and squalid conditions inside. 

Sheriff David Davis, who is responsible for managing and maintaining the jail, told protestors he agreed the jail was “deplorable” and “antiquated.” Davis marched with the crowd to Macon City Hall but the mayor was not there.

On June 4, eight days after the grand jury inspection, 22-year-old Johnson was fatally stabbed in the chest after inmates in the C block jimmied open the cell door to the D block where he was being housed. Four other inmates were injured in the outbreak of violence. The grand jury noted the locks on cell doors in the C200 block were in need of repair. 

The next week, on June 10, Mayor Lester Miller announced plans for the county to expand the jail at its current site and condemn part of Hawthorne Street to make room for it. He also said the sheriff plans to release roughly 150 nonviolent inmates in the coming month and enroll them in an ankle monitoring program to help relieve overcrowding at the jail. 

The ankle monitors and software are estimated to cost the county about $2.5 million, which will be paid for using federal America Rescue Plan Act money the mayor earmarked for the Macon Violence Prevention program.

The mayor also introduced a new group, the Macon Justice and Wellness Task Force, which he has charged with researching and evaluating justice programs including the jail-based support system for inmates. 

On Saturday, June 14, a 36-year-old was found unresponsive in a jail cell. Mario Marquiz Clark was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Clark was being held in the jail on charges including violation of probation, a state court bench warrant, enticing a child for indecent purposes and public indecency. 

To read grand jury jail inspection reports from 2021-25, click here.