News 12 at 6 o'clock / Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The Department of Juvenile Justice has admitted this was the first-ever death of a juvenile while in state custody.

News 12's Lynnsey Gardner spoke with a prison pastor and a former Augusta Youth Development Campus inmate and both tell us they knew Jade Holden personally. They also tell us they are not surprised by what happened to Jade.

Out of the hundreds of prisons this pastor has been in across Georgia, and the country, he says Augusta YDC is the worst.

"We've got to expose this so we can stop some other child from getting killed in the DJJ system across the state of Georgia. It's sad. It is sad what it has gone to."

He spoke exclusively with News 12 Wednesday afternoon. He did not want us to show you his face or tell you his name.

Meanwhile, Richmond County's Youth Development Campus is on lockdown.

Inside, it's a crime scene in unit 43. That's where 19-year-old Jade was beaten and later died at a local hospital. The GBI is trying to now solve at whose hands.

"God bless this young man's family," the pastor continued. "Our hearts go out and people all over Georgia is praying for this young man that knew him. If they had controlled their facility, without playing the games that they play, this young man would be alive today and I feel it's part my fault because I didn't let out what was going on because I was scared."

He showed News 12 his Department of Corrections identification badge. It's gotten him into prisons and Youth Detention Centers across Georgia and hundreds more across the country.

"Augusta is the worst unit I have been in across the United States of America," he said. "That is like going to the gates of hell walking in that place. "

And even a former inmate who the pastor says he's ministered to agreed.

"It took me fighting a whole, whole lot. I know that at least 30 times within that first week fighting to get a name for myself," he said.

"Where could y'all fight at? Where are the guards?" asked News 12's Lynnsey Gardner.

"Down there, you shower together. You've got five showers. You go in the shower, and you fight in the shower. You fight in there, or you get a room opened up, you go in the room and fight," he said.

"What do you mean a room?" Gardner asked.

"Like a bedroom..." he replied.

GBI agents told News 12 Jade was beaten inside a room as well.

Gardner to unidentified former inmate: "So the guards would knowingly let y'all go into rooms and fight?"

"Most of them," replied the former inmate.

Gardner asked if the guards saw the blood and bruises after the fighting.

"They did, but it was just one of them type of things where they just say, 'All right, just tell me you slipped and fell in the shower.' There ain't no cameras in the showers, so there ain't nothing they can prove that you didn't fall or nothing in the shower," he said.

"Yeah, but they'd ask us if we just slipped in the shower and there aren't cameras in the shower, so they can't prove it," he said.

The unidentified teenager, who was let out just this weekend, says he was a friend of Jade's. He said they both served in several Youth Detention Centers across Georgia and twice of those were together. Their longest stint together was in Augusta.

"There's a thing called 'easy time,' there's a thing called 'hard time.' 'Easy time' is when you have contraband," he said. "That's a good time. It makes your time go by a whole lot faster than it is when you don't have it."

That 'easy time' he says was supplied by some YDC employees.

"You can buy a pack of cigarettes for $15, $20 and turn around, make $50 off that pack. You could get cellphones for $40, $50," he said.

Gardner's conversation with the former inmate revealed even more startling allegations.

Gardner: "You are buying these from the guards?"
Former inmate: "Anything you want they have it -- as far as cigarettes, liquor, weed, they have it all."
Gardner: "Illegal drugs? How much would pot run you?"
Former inmate: "A quarter, which would normally cost you on the street about $40 ... you've got $80 in there."
Gardner: "Why didn't you report this?"
Former inmate: "If you do that, that's what happens to people like Jade. It ain't no joke in there. You snitch on somebody, you're going to have a hard time the rest of your time in. You will get beat, if not killed."

All of this comes as there is a change of command at the top of the Department of Juvenile Justice. Monday, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced he was reassigning commissioner Amy Howell after she served just nine months in the position.

The newly appointed commissioner, Gail Buckner, won't start until next week. Her confirmation hearing is Thursday in Atlanta. She told News 12 the Augusta YDC is being investigated from the top, down. She said she is committed to getting to the bottom of any alleged criminal accusations, but first, she needs people to come forward. If you have any information, you can contact her office at (404) 508-7147.

News 12 also reached out to Gov. Deal. While his staff would not put us in touch with him to ask him any questions regarding the incident or the status of youth detention centers in Georgia, they did release the following statement Wednesday:
"The state will fully investigate this alleged crime and report back on the facts, but initial reports are disturbing. A new commissioner will take over Department of Juvenile Justice next week, and I will work with her to take swift and urgent action in this case. Beyond the ongoing investigation, we need to take corrective action to prevent similar travesties from occurring in the future. My heart goes out to the victim and his family."

News 12 shared this statement with our unidentified prison pastor.

His response was this: "I know Gov. Nathan Deal. He's a man of his word. He will dig into it. But, they will hide more than he can ever find."

News 12 has filed a number of open records requests with the governor's office and the Department of Juvenile Justice relating to Jade's death and the other complaints and allegations we have received. We will continue to follow this story and let you know what our investigation reveals.

There are still no arrests in this case. The GBI says Jade's autopsy has been postponed until Thursday.

The GBI is investigating everyone inside unit 43 when the beating happened Monday night. This includes 15 to 20 juvenile inmates and the guards tasked with protecting them.