FEBRUARY 2020
Article by Alyssa Riggs
17
GDC Builds Furniture for
New Nathan Deal Judicial Center
Click image to watch the process it takes to create beautiful furniture with GCI.
Here is a complete list of furnishings designed and built by GDC offenders for the Judicial Center:
Conference room table in the Chief Justice’s Banc room with Supreme Court seal embedded in the center
25 multitask room tables in the conference center
Tall wooden standing desks in the Justice’s Chambers, modeled after the standing desk favored by Thomas Jefferson
Nine Justice’s chairs in the Supreme Court courtroom, embroidered and reupholstered
On January 29, 2020 media from around the state gathered at the new Nathan Deal Judicial Center to celebrate the first state building in Georgia history dedicated solely to the judiciary. The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) is proud to be able to say that the Judicial Center is filled with furniture designed and built by state offenders, through Georgia Correctional Industries (GCI) programs, and media representatives had a firsthand look at their work during a behind-the-scenes tour of the building.
Commissioner Timothy C. Ward spoke to the crowd about GDC’s involvement in furnishing the building. “It is our hope that this handcrafted furniture will not only symbolize the new beginning for the Judicial Center, but also the work of our offenders. They have now become a part of history because of these skills they learned during incarceration; and it is those learned skills that will hopefully assist them to reenter society as productive citizens," says GDC Commissioner Ward.
Offenders at Dodge, Hancock, and Montgomery State Prisons (SP) have all worked together to create furniture for the Judicial Center. The first step in the lengthy process began at Dodge SP. Offenders learned carpentry skills to build desks, end tables and conference tables. On average, it took approximately five hours to build one desk and a whole lot of teamwork. Not everyone in the program at Dodge SP has woodworking skills, but the offenders took the opportunity to learn, and found great pride once everything was put into place. Offenders working in these programs can earn technical college certificates in woodworking.
Offender Edgardo Ramos is new to the craft himself and he says, “For someone who hasn’t touched a piece of wood, to go through something like this where they can be trained and put out there and go back to the real world with something new under their belt, I think it’s very important.”
The next step takes place at Hancock SP, where the Supreme Court logo is digitized and prepared for embroidery. The logo was embroidered on the nine reupholstered Justice’s chairs, now located in the Supreme Court courtroom
Skilled offenders explain the process as “the technique of taking an image and creating digital media out of it. What we do is take that artwork and convert it into stitches. We’ll tell the machines what direction the stitches will go and where they need to be placed.”
Once the digitizing program is prepared, the Supreme Court logo is then embroidered onto the fabric that is then sent to Montgomery SP to be reupholstered. This is a tedious process that requires removing the old fabric from furniture and perfectly attaching the newly sewn fabric to the furniture.
GCI employs approximately 1,000 offenders within three divisions, where offenders are able to learn new and valuable skills while creating a cost-effective solution for the Judicial Center. GCI strives to mentor and assist offenders in developing marketable job skills needed to become productive citizens while enhancing key attributes needed to obtain employment upon release.
Facilities across the state provide offenders with manufacturing, food service and agribusiness skills in order to reduce idle time during incarceration, provide job skills, give savings to Georgia taxpayers and offer employment opportunities. Even though these facilities are miles apart, offenders use their skills to make handcrafted furniture at a more practical price. Once it all comes together, it makes for a fresh new start for our offenders.