Investigation into deaths of 2 Lee Arrendale Inmates

Photo byNowHabersham.com

The Georgia Department of Corrections is investigating the recent deaths of two Lee Arrendale State Prison inmates. Sherry Joyce and Hallie Reed died eight days apart at the prison in Alto.

According to Department of Corrections spokesperson Lori Benoit, Joyce died on April 27. Reed died on May 5. Their bodies were turned over to the Habersham County Coroner, who says no official cause of death has yet been determined.

"Both have been sent to the GBI Crime Lab for further investigation, and both are still pending," says Coroner Kasey McEntire.

At the time of her death, Joyce was serving a life sentence out of Toombs County for murder. Reed was serving a 5-year sentence out of Catoosa County for obstruction of a law enforcement officer, Benoit said.

Responding to Now Habersham's request for additional information, Benoit wrote in an email: "The death is being investigated by the GDC’s Office of Professional Standards, as standard procedure; therefore, additional details are not available, as the investigation is ongoing."

Three deaths in less than 2 years

Sources say Joyce and Reed were housed in the mental health building—the same unit where another inmate was murdered nearly two years ago.

Angela Anderson was killed on September 11, 2022. A year later, authorities charged LASP inmate Leticia Land with her murder.

The prison, which has come under fire for alleged inhumane inmate treatment in recent years, is slated to close under a plan approved by the Department of Corrections last year.

"We do not have a definitive date for the closure of the prison at LASP at this time," GDC Director of Public Affairs Joan Heath tells Now Habersham.

The plan calls for approximately 1,000 Lee Arrendale inmates to be relocated to a prison in McRae in Central Georgia. The Lee Arrendale Transitional Center will remain open.