This petition is born out of a mother's grief, a grievous personal tragedy, and a glaring example of systemic neglect. Angela Cochran the mother of the late Corey Cochran, experienced the indescribable pain and horror of losing her mentally ill son, tragically neglected within the heartless depths of Georgia's prison system. He was murdered by ligature strangulation and contusions to the head. Basically he was strangled and beat to death while in lockdown and there were no guards available to intervene. Corey had a broken leg and the guards chose to put someone in the same lockdown cell as my son that was a different level of mental illness. He murdered my son the day he was put in the cell with him!!

Young Corey was mishandled from the moment he joined the LP Phillips State Prison. He was barely 29 years old and suffering from a mental health condition of schizophrenia. On his very first day, nod to insufficient system safeguards, his mattress and blanket were stolen. Despite tireless calls by his mother, the prison administration remained indifferent. Six months into his time, Corey was not provided a replacement for his stolen essentials and continually had everything stolen or taken from him. When Angela last spoke with her son, he was too ill to communicate and a heartless guard reported that Corey was feeding off the floor. By the time he tragically passed, 12-17-24  his weight had plummeted to less than 100 lbs.

The COREY COCHRAN ACT seeks justice for Corey and improved mental health care for all individuals incarcerated in Georgia prisons. The fact remains that the treatment of mentally ill individuals within the prison system continues to be a significant public health issue. More than 50% of all inmates in U.S. prisons have a mental illness according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), a startling statistic that underscores our urgent plea.

We demand that Georgia's prison system acknowledge and address its need for a profound shift in its approach to mental healthcare, ensuring dignified and humane treatment for all inmates irrespective of their health status. We ask that the Georgia State Legislature enact the COREY COCHRAN ACT, for the safety and well-being of mentally ill individuals incarcerated within our state prison system. Time is of the essence, change is indispensable. Save lives. Preserve dignity. Sign this petition today.

All guards should have to have a camera on them at all times.

mentally challenged individuals that is schizophrenic and has psychosis should not be put in lockdown with an individual that is in prison for aggravated assault.

mentally challenged individuals should be made to take their medicine and not be called out for medication call. Sense the mentally challenge. Don’t always go to medication call.

mentally challenged individuals should never be put in cells with gang members!

Guard should check on the mentally challenged individuals in prison like they should instead of checking on them every two or three days.

every inmate deserves a mattress and blanket, even if theirs have been stolen my Son’s blanket and mattress was stolen on the first day he arrived and never received another one until his death. This is unhuman treatment of an individual.

Guards should not be letting the gang members run the prison they should be doing their job.

my son did not get a death sentence. he was in there on a probation violation for being on Walmart property when he wasn’t allowed. Georgia prison is the one that gave my son. A death sentence for the way he was treated and nothing was done about it.

Mental Health Court told me they could not place my son in a long term mental health facility because in Georgia there wasn’t any long term facilities for the mental health. Except in prisons! My son’s mental health was so bad that mental health court had no idea what to do for him. So they dropped everything and put him back on the street to be picked up and put in prison. Georgia NEEDS MENTAL HEALTH FACILITIES FOR THE MENTALLY ILL . PRISON IS NOT A PLACE FOR TO PUT OUR MENTALLY CHALLENGED SONS OR DAUGHTERS BECAUSE GEORGIA PRISONS DO NOT HELP THE MENTALLY ILL. They have no idea how to live in a prison and thanks to the Georgia system my son was murdered. IM PLEDGING TO OPEN LONG TERM MENTAL HEALTHCARE IN GEORGIA OUR CHILDREN ARE BEING MURDERED IN PRISON!!