THE GEORGIA BUREAU of Investigation might consider moving its headquarters to Trion, given all the business Hays State Prison has been giving it lately. It is now looking into three separate violent deaths (journalists are trained not to call such “murder” without a legal finding) of inmates there in less than a month.

That is now three more “death sentences” apparently handed down inside Hays in non-legal proceedings than Georgia imposed with legal sanction in all of the past year.

That is more than incredible. Making it appear even worse is the lack of information given to the public — the normal way the Department of Corrections handles such matters.

They’re afraid they’ll tip off any suspects causing them to flee? Come to think of it, there was an escape from Hays back in 2008.

Plainly, this prison for “hard cases” is either out of control or looks that way, although why is a puzzlement perhaps never to be revealed ... well, at least not willingly.

This official silence simply makes newspapers, TV stations and others rely on their other unofficial sources, resulting in a scattering of juicy hints that may or may not be accurate. The three deaths have been described — all in different places — as the result of a brutal beating, then a victim strangled in bed while in protective custody, and the latest stabbed 16 times with a homemade weapon.

One source, self-identified as a guard, claims most of the locks on Hays cell doors don’t work. (A federal judge took control of the Fulton County Jail for the same reason.) Several sources identified as family members claim there is a protection racket going on inside, with relatives notified to pay up or their loved ones will be killed.

The need to safeguard “ongoing investigations” is real, but the need to avoid making bad things look worse needs to be understood by state authorities.