The U.S. Marshals Service is planning to move approximately 400 pre-trial detainees from a private prison in Lovejoy, Georgia, to a different facility nearly 200 miles away. The transfer will begin the week of September 21 and will occur in stages over the next five weeks, with the final move expected by October 31, 2026. The current facility, the Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility (RADD), is operated by GEO Group, a Florida-based private prison company. The move is being made after concerns were raised about unsafe and inadequate conditions at RADD, which has not seen improvements over time. The Marshals Service has decided not to renew GEO Group's contract as the fiscal year nears its end. The relocation has raised concerns among legal experts and court officials, who worry it could disrupt criminal proceedings in Atlanta, where the busiest federal courthouse in the state is located. The current facility is only 25 miles from the courthouse, while the new location in Irwin County, Georgia, is about 188 miles away. This means detainees would have to travel over 376 miles round trip for court appearances, making it difficult to attend sessions on time. For example, a detainee would need to leave Irwin County by 5:00 a.m. to be at the courthouse by 8:30 a.m., and would likely return to the detention facility by 9:00 p.m. after court ends at 5:00 p.m. Chief Judge Leigh Martin May of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia has called the relocation a "catastrophe," expressing concerns in a letter to Georgia's U.S. senators. She noted that RADD is the most suitable option for pre-trial detainees due to its proximity to the courthouse and its accessibility for attorneys, family members, and Marshals Service staff. Natasha Silas, executive director of the Federal Defender Program in the Northern District of Georgia, warned that the move could increase costs for the judiciary and complicate the work of defense attorneys. She also raised concerns about the conditions at the new facility, which is run by La Salle Corrections, a Louisiana-based company with a history of lawsuits and human rights complaints. The move is being made in response to ongoing issues at RADD, including missing tools, broken walls, and faulty locks. These problems have led to scrutiny of GEO Group, which previously faced a 2020 audit by the Justice Department’s inspector general. The audit found that the company failed to maintain required staffing levels for detention security and had numerous vacant positions for more than 120 days. Although the audit suggested that the Marshals Service could have withheld over $3.1 million in payments, no deductions were made. GEO Group has faced multiple lawsuits in recent years over conditions in its facilities and holds over $894 million in federal contracts for 2026, primarily with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. However, the company did not respond to questions from CBS News.