COFFEE COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) - The family of Melvin Johnson, a Coffee County man incarcerated at Hays State Prison, says they are still searching for answers after learning he died while in custody.

According to a post from the Human and Civil Rights Coalition of Georgia, Johnson’s family received a phone call on Jan. 26 informing them he was on life support at a Rome-area hospital after being assaulted at Hays State Prison.

Hays State Prison is located in Trion, GA.

The advocacy group said family members drove nearly six hours to the hospital, only to be denied access after being told they were not on Johnson’s approved visitation list.

The coalition stated Johnson was later taken off life support and died, adding that the family was still not allowed to see him after his death.

Johnson was serving time for robbery.

Several members of Johnson’s family spoke with WALB News 10, including his mother, Patricia Wilson, his sisters Sharda Johnson and Shantarius Brockington, his brother Quinorris Brockington, and his son Idarius Robertson.

Family members told WALB News 10 they had visited Johnson multiple times while he was incarcerated and said they were, in fact, on his approved visitation list. The family provided a photograph, showing Johnson standing with relatives during a prior prison visit.

“We were denied his last moments,” Quinorris Brockington said. “They told us we weren’t on the visitation list, but we had been there before. We have pictures. We have dates.”

Johnson’s family says they were repeatedly denied access to him while he was hospitalized and claim they were not given clear information about his condition, how he was allegedly injured, or when he was transferred to the hospital.

“They wouldn’t even let his biological mother see him,” Brockington said. “That hurt her the most.”

Family members also said they were never formally notified how long Johnson had been hospitalized before receiving the call informing them he was on life support. According to relatives, they were later told Johnson had been hospitalized for several days before the family was contacted.

“We knew something was wrong when we didn’t hear from him around his birthday,” his sister Sharda Johnson said. “That wasn’t like him.”

The family says Johnson had been incarcerated for more than a decade and had earned his GED and multiple certifications while in custody. They describe him as a loving father and say family was extremely important to him.

“He talked to us at least once or twice a week,” a family member said. “When that stopped, we knew something wasn’t right.”

WALB News 10 has reached out to the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) multiple times seeking clarification on the circumstances surrounding Johnson’s alleged injuries, hospitalization, visitation status, and death. The GDC has not responded.

The family says they are now calling for transparency, accountability, and changes within the corrections system to prevent other families from experiencing similar situations.

“We’re fighting because he can’t speak for himself,” Brockington said. “We don’t want this to happen to another family.”

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