A view out the front door of Hays State Prison, in Trion Ga., reveals one of the many watch towers on the property.

Hays State Prison

Two guards at Hays State Prison were stabbed early Sunday morning during a fight with inmates, the Georgia Department of Corrections confirmed Sunday night.

A corrections officer and a corrections sergeant were stabbed when they tried to get several inmates back in their cell around 1 a.m., sources said.

Rick Jacobs, field operations manager for the corrections department, said neither officer had life-threatening wounds. Both were treated and released from the hospital.

He said the attack is under investigation. He declined to comment on whether the inmates had left their cells in the middle of the night when they were supposed to be on lockdown.

In a month's time, three inmates have been attacked and killed at the maximum-security prison in Trion, Ga.

Sources inside the prison and family members outside have described an institution on the ragged edge of control. Locks don't operate right, so inmates can roam within the buildings. Sometimes only one guard is assigned to monitor a cell of about 62 prisoners or a building with more than 120 inmates, sources have told the Times Free Press.