SMITH STATE PRISON
Facility Information
- Original Design Capacity
- 500 (at 215% capacity)
- Bed Capacity
- 1,526 beds
- Current Population
- 1,073
- Active Lifers
- 288 (26.8% of population) · Oct 2026 GDC report
- Life Without Parole
- 195 (18.2%)
What the courts held in Brown v. Plata, and how Georgia compares →
- Address
- 9676 Hwy 301 North, Glennville, GA 30427
- Phone
- (912) 654-5000
- Fax
- (912) 654-5305
- Mailing Address
- P.O. Box 726, Glennville, GA 30427
- County
- Tattnall County
- Opened
- 1993
- Operator
- GDC (Georgia Dept. of Corrections)
Security Classification
Last updated: October 2, 2026
945 of the 1,066 people held here are classified Close security (88.6%), as of September 23, 2026.
| Security level | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Close | 945 | 88.6% |
| Medium | 114 | 10.7% |
| Minimum | 6 | 0.6% |
| High | 1 | 0.1% |
| Total | 1,066 |
Earlier count (undated table, produced October 22, 2025): 1,002 of 1,125 Close (89.1%).
Restrictive housing beds
| Program | Beds | Occupied |
|---|---|---|
| Tier II | 111 | 89 |
| STEP | 20 | 14 |
Source: Georgia Department of Corrections records produced to GPS under the Open Records Act (R031471-090226, R024615-101925, R031710-091426). A person's security level is GDC's classification of that person, which can differ from the prison's own designation.
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Leadership & Accountability (as of 2026 records)
Officials currently holding positional authority at this facility, with deaths attributed to GPS-tracked records during their leadership tenure. Inclusion reflects role-based accountability, not legal findings of personal culpability. Death counts shown as facility / career.
| Role | Name | Since | Deaths this facility / career |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warden (facility lead) | Mims, Charles Michael | 2025-07-16 | 4 / 46 |
| Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment (facility deputy) | Warren, Willesha | 2022-01-01 | 23 / 23 |
| Deputy Warden of Security (facility deputy) | Carver, Keenan | 2024-01-01 | 7 / 7 |
| Deputy Warden of Administration (facility deputy) | Kennedy, Ashley L | 2024-01-01 | 7 / 7 |
| Deputy Warden of Security (facility deputy) | Edwards, Brianna | 2026-07-01 | — / — |
About
Last updated November 8, 2026.(DS)
Smith State Prison: Deaths, Contraband, and the Collapse of a Close-Security Compound
Smith State Prison sits on Highway 301 North outside Glennville in Tattnall County, a close-security men's facility that opened in 1993 and was originally designed to hold 500 people. It now carries a rated capacity of 1,526 and, per GPS's facility records, a population of 1,073 — roughly 70 percent of rated capacity, with 88.6 percent of the people held there classified close custody. The plant combines cellblocks and dormitories with extensive segregation and special-management housing, including the state's Tier Segregation System: 111 Tier II beds (89 occupied) and 20 Tier III beds (14 occupied). It also hosts a residential substance-abuse and transitional program via a nearby center. The warden is Charles Michael Mims, who has held the post since July 2025; his deputies are Keenan Carver (Security), Willesha Warren (Care and Treatment), Brianna Edwards (Security), and Ashley L. Kennedy (Administration).
What follows is the record of what has happened inside those walls: a mortality count that runs to 38 deaths since January 1, 2020, a former warden under indictment, a gun that killed a civilian kitchen worker, and a staffing picture that outside investigators and former officers describe in the same terms.
Thirty-Eight Deaths, Eighteen of Them Homicides
GPS's mortality registry records 38 deaths at Smith State Prison since January 1, 2020 — a figure that is a floor, not a ceiling, because GDC reports deaths roughly two months late. Of those, 18 are classified as homicides, 8 as suicides, 5 as unknown or pending, 3 as natural or medical, 2 as overdoses, and 2 as medical neglect.
The most recent deaths GPS has recorded include Dreeonnie Lee Hart, who died May 14, 2026, at Smith State Prison at age 25; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending. Dwayne Eric Albritton died March 12, 2026, at Smith State Prison at 65; the registry lists Medical Neglect. Nicholas Shafer died February 8, 2026, at Smith State Prison at 24; the registry lists Homicide. John Jacobs died October 25, 2025, at Smith State Prison at 77; the registry lists Natural/Medical.
Before them: Calvin Bernard Craft died December 14, 2024, at Smith State Prison at 34 (Unknown/Pending); Orlando Jordan died September 13, 2024, at Smith State Prison at 36 (Unknown/Pending); Richard Jermine Williams died September 7, 2024, at Smith State Prison at 43 (Overdose); Jaydrekus Cartez Hart died June 16, 2024, at Smith State Prison at 34 (Suicide); Gineli Antoine Gray died February 9, 2024, at Smith State Prison at 31 (Unknown/Pending); Donquerius Lamonte Mahone died February 4, 2024, at Smith State Prison at 37 (Homicide).
In 2023: James Adams died November 8 at 72 (Homicide); Lawrence Leon Woods died October 18 at 34 (Medical Neglect); Walter Russell Wright died September 26 at 64 (Natural/Medical); Quenton George Mayo died August 14 at 30 (Homicide); Justin Tyler Smith died July 28 at 37 (Homicide); Austin Jacob Witte died July 17 at 33 (Suicide); Shaquan Jahrel Boykins died May 11 at 31 (Homicide); Calvin Darrell Denson died April 26 at 31 (Homicide); Anthony Joseph Zino died April 5 at 71 (Homicide); Boris Ignacio Mejia died March 18 at 29 (Suicide); Randy Wynn died March 1 at 54 (Homicide).
In 2022: Juan Miguel Orduna died October 25 at 39 (Suicide); Nathan Michael Mahan died October 23 at 37 (Homicide); Manuel Villagomez died September 16 at 24 (Suicide); Jerome Tisdol died May 28 at 67 (Unknown/Pending).
The full registry, including the deaths from 2020 and 2021, is published at GPS's facility death list. For context on scale: GPS has independently tracked 1,928 deaths in GDC custody system-wide since 2020.
What the Autopsies and Death Certificates Actually Say
The documentary record behind those deaths is unusually specific, and it does not always match the department's own coding.
Joseph Franklin Norris, 55, died February 12, 2020. The GBI Division of Forensic Sciences autopsy, authored by Regional Medical Examiner Edmund Donoghue at the Coastal Regional Lab in Pooler, certified the cause as hanging and the manner as suicide. The report describes Norris as the lone occupant of a single lockdown strip cell, placed there on February 7, 2020, attributed to drug use, and last known alive on February 11 at 2300 hours. At 0515 the next morning officers found him suspended from his pants, fashioned into a ligature affixed to the top rail of the bunk, having kneeled into the loop. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the coroner at 0700. The autopsy documented petechial hemorrhages of both sclerae, a slanting horizontal abrasion on the anterior neck, and multiple abrasions and bruises over the extremities and back; it also noted moderate coronary atherosclerosis with 50 percent occlusion of two arteries. Toxicology found methamphetamine at 0.30 mg/L. No note of intent was found. A GDC CID agent saw no suspicion of foul play.
Jerome Tisdol, 67, died May 28, 2022 — and no autopsy was performed. A GBI DOFS report dated May 31, 2022, signed by Edmund Donoghue, states: "This case has been reviewed by the medical examiner. Based on the information provided at this time, an examination by this office is not necessary." No cause and no manner of death is certified in that production.
Nicholas Shafer, 24, died February 8, 2026. The Georgia death certificate, certified by Tattnall County Coroner Herbert T. Brown on March 25, 2026, and filed May 22, 2026, lists the manner as homicide and the Part I cause as "Blunt head trauma and asphyxia," with the injury recorded as occurring that day at Smith State Prison and described as "Assaulted by another inmate." He was pronounced dead at 11:03 AM. GPS received a non-legal copy of the certificate from Coroner Brown on October 5, 2026, and upgraded its cause-of-death source from prisoner report to county coroner.
Justin Tyler Smith, 37, died July 28, 2023, in the emergency room at Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah. The death certificate, certified by Coroner Bradley B. Anderson on August 25, 2023, lists the manner as homicide and the cause as epidural hematoma due to blunt force injury of the head, with the injury occurring July 27, 2023, at Smith State Prison, described as "Punched and fell to the ground, striking head."
Quenton George Mayo, 30, died August 14, 2023, at Smith State Prison and was pronounced at 14:56. The death certificate (State File 2023GA000062796), certified by Coroner Anderson on September 11, 2023, lists the manner as homicide and the cause as "Stab wounds of neck," the injury recorded at 14:29 and described as "Stabbed by other(s)."
John Jacobs, 77, died October 25, 2025, at East Georgia Regional Medical Center in Statesboro. The Tattnall County coroner record (case 2025-084), prepared by Deputy Coroner Daniel Bennett, certifies cardiorespiratory arrest due to sepsis with multiorgan failure, arising from recurrent intra-abdominal abscesses following duodenal perforation and surgical repair, with peptic ulcer disease as the underlying condition; the manner is natural. Jacobs had been admitted October 20 with worsening abdominal pain, confusion, and rectal bleeding, following abdominal surgeries in September 2025. Pronouncement came after five cardiopulmonary arrests, 10 minutes of ACLS, and three doses of epinephrine. No autopsy was performed; the GBI medical examiner declined based on available clinical information. The record documents that Coroner Anderson took initial notification and released the body without informing Deputy Coroner Bennett, who later learned of the death from a GBI ME contact while working another case, then subpoenaed the full hospital chart and refused to rely solely on GDC's internal investigation. Bennett stated on the record that in his professional opinion any death in GDC custody warrants independent third-party review of all records for transparency and to preserve public confidence and family trust.
Other autopsy findings in the record: Manuel Villagomez, 24, died September 16, 2022 — hanging, suicide (DOFS case 2022-6005485). Juan Miguel Orduna, 39, died October 25, 2022 — hanging, suicide (case 2022-6006390), resolving a prior unknown/pending classification. Boris Ignacio Mejia, 29, died March 18, 2023 — hanging, suicide. Michael Lee Canty, 35, died March 20, 2021 — hanging, suicide. Christopher Darnell Heath, 43, died December 11, 2020 — hanging, suicide. Lawrence Leon Woods, 34, died October 18, 2023 — acute peritonitis due to probable perforated gastric peptic ulcer, manner accident (case 2023-6006392). Richard Jermine Williams, 43, died September 7, 2024, at 17:32 — toxic effects of MDMB-4en-PINACA, manner accident (case 2024-6005477). One DOFS report (R000401-071026) lists cause of death as methamphetamine and synthetic cannabinoid toxicity complicating coronary atherosclerosis, manner accident (case 2022-6002829); another lists cardiac dysrhythmia with cardiomegaly and hypertension as contributing conditions, manner natural (case 2023-6005982).
The Gun in the Kitchen: June 16, 2024
The event that drew national attention to Smith State Prison happened in the kitchen at roughly 4:30 a.m. on June 16, 2024. Jaydrekus Hart, an incarcerated man, shot and killed 24-year-old Aureon Shavea Grace, an Aramark food service employee, then turned the gun on himself. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the shooting; Georgia Public Broadcasting reported that investigators allege someone used a drone to smuggle in the firearm. GDC put all of its prisons on lockdown and cancelled visitations; roads into the facility were closed and officers in tactical gear were stationed at the entrance. Corrections officials said a personal relationship existed between the two and called it an isolated incident.
Nearly two years later, testimony in Tattnall County Superior Court described something considerably larger. GDC CID Special Agent Justin Fountain testified that a gun was inside Smith State Prison for a year before the murder-suicide. He testified that a woman known to CID for about two years facilitated the gun with at least three others, that she was involved with an inmate, and that CID traced her involvement through contraband phones seized from that inmate between 2020 and 2024. The package containing the gun, he said, was thrown over the fence between June 30 and July 10, 2023, and contained tobacco, clothing, and suspected drugs. The coordinating inmate — serving life — sent photos of the gun on a contraband phone as early as January 1, 2024, and the gun was smuggled to organize an escape. When the coordinator and a second inmate went to segregation for contraband, they entrusted Jaydrekus Hart and another inmate to keep the gun moving. Fountain testified that GDC, CID, and police knew about the gun's existence on June 13, 2024 — three days before the shooting.
Deshonda Hagins, Grace's mother, filed a wrongful-death suit against GDC in Fulton County State Court demanding a jury trial. The complaint alleges that warnings about the gun came from inmates and were provided directly to multiple GDC officials, including during official investigations, and that no lockdown, extensive search, or protective measures were taken afterward. Attorney Brent Savage stated there were no guards in the area when Grace was shot. Hagins alleges Hart was not authorized to be in the kitchen, was favored by GDC staff, and was permitted to violate rules with impunity. GDC accused Grace of helping Hart get the gun inside; her family denies it, asserting the gun was present before she started work — she was hired in January 2024. Hagins learned of her daughter's death from inmates posting on contraband phones. She is raising Grace's two children.
A Warden Indicted: The Saint Laurent Squad
Brian Adams, the warden who preceded Jacob Beasley, was arrested in February 2023 and bonded out of the Tattnall County Jail on February 9, 2023, on charges including bribery, criminal attempt — Georgia RICO Act, false statements and writings, and concealment of facts. On May 12, 2026, a Tattnall County grand jury returned a true bill against Adams on six felony counts: violation of RICO, making false statements, two counts of tampering with evidence, and two counts of violation of oath by a public officer. The case was presented by the Georgia Attorney General's Office before a special call-back grand jury after 39 months. The Georgia Court of Appeals declined to hear an appeal from Adams and former officer Ireon Moore, citing lack of jurisdiction due to an incorrect appellate procedure after a new direct-appeal statute took effect.
Prosecutors allege Adams took bribes from the Yves Saint Laurent Squad gang to allow contraband into Smith State Prison and to move the gang's leader out of solitary confinement. The AJC reported that Adams is alleged to have received U.S. currency through a pattern of racketeering activity associated with the Saint Laurent Squad scheme, and that GBI agents alleged he provided false statements in an April 13, 2022 interview when he said he had not been solicited or bribed by a GDC inmate in the past 10 years. The Georgia Virtue reported that Adams allegedly participated in a RICO organization associated with the enterprise run by inmate Nathan Weekes.
Weekes is at the center of a second cluster. The AJC reported that Weekes, an inmate at Smith State Prison, is accused of orchestrating the murder of 88-year-old Bobby Kicklighter and ordering two other murders from inside the prison using a contraband cell phone. Kicklighter was shot to death in his bed in the middle of the night in Glennville in 2021 in what investigators determined was a case of mistaken identity — Weekes allegedly ordered a hit on a correctional officer who had lived next door. Weekes and his associates have been charged with three murders related to the contraband operation. A wrongful-death suit filed by Kicklighter's family alleges that Adams and former officer Ireon Moore facilitated a criminal enterprise that led to his murder in a botched murder-for-hire scheme; the suit alleges Moore was paid to participate, with financial arrangements carried out through text message, and that Adams should have noticed contraband including cell phones, narcotics, weapons, designer brand clothing, jewelry, and tobacco. The Georgia Virtue reported that Adams remained as warden even after GDC learned of at least two murders alleged to have been orchestrated from behind the walls, some eighteen months before his eventual termination.
The contraband economy at Smith has also drawn in civilians. Court documents cited by The Georgia Virtue allege that on August 22, 2026, Jennifer Lynn Thrasher carried four bundles of methamphetamine into Smith State Prison; she is accused of smuggling methamphetamine for her incarcerated husband over a three-year period. The Atlantic Circuit District Attorney's Office filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking $115,710.36 from her.
The AJC's broader accounting: 425 GDC employees arrested for on-the-job crimes since 2018, with many escaping prison time and some never prosecuted; during a year-long stretch ending in June 2024, the department arrested 69 staff members, 204 inmates, and 554 civilians and tallied over 430 reports of drones. The AJC also reported that GDC does not research the credit or financial histories of applicants, unlike the federal system. GPS's own analysis of contraband reports ranks Smith State Prison among the facilities whose reports most often name GDC's own staff — 20 staff-class people across 105 incidents, behind Dooly, Calhoun, Wilcox, Valdosta, and Telfair.
Two-Thirds Vacant: Staffing at Smith
The staffing picture is the thread that runs through nearly everything above. The AJC reported in January 2025 that two-thirds of correctional officer positions at Smith State Prison were unfilled, leaving only 53 officers at a facility designed for 160. The Marshall Project, in a January 2024 account, described officer Andrew Phillips as the sole officer assigned to an area housing 600 men, with no functioning fire extinguishers, when inmates set mattresses on fire; Phillips worked 11 consecutive days before being called to escort a stabbing victim to the hospital. He resigned from Smith but was convinced to stay in another position for a few months before leaving permanently in February 2023.
A former corrections officer told the AJC that the prison's back gate, used to bring in supplies, lacks a metal detector. In a November 2025 YouTube interview, Tyler Ryals — a former GDC CERT commander — said that at Smith State Prison an inmate was moving around the compound with a pistol. In an October 11, 2026 Facebook post, Ryals wrote that Correctional Officer Robert Clark was escorting inmates around Smith State Prison alone when he was stabbed, that "there wasn't a single officer nearby to help Mr. Clark as he was being stabbed," and that another inmate who tried to intervene was stabbed in the process. Clark, 42, died October 1, 2023, of multiple stab wounds after being attacked by an inmate. Ryals wrote that Smith State Prison "was allowed to continue 'operating' with a fraction of the staff required to secure the prison," and that a few months later a civilian kitchen worker was shot dead inside the same facility.
Rauf Latham, who was incarcerated in GDC for over 12 years, said in a July 2026 YouTube interview with Ryals that his first experience of staffing problems came in 2010-2011 at Smith State Prison, when Warden Stanley Williams arrived, shook up the atmosphere, and caused a number of officers to quit — and that sergeants and lieutenants, including a Lieutenant McFarland he says is now a warden, had to work the dormitories.
GPS's systemic reporting places this in a wider frame: officer vacancies across Georgia's prisons have run between 49.3 and 60 percent systemwide for multiple years against a national standard of no more than 10 percent, the hiring pipeline cannot close the gap, and Georgia ranks last of 50 states for correctional-officer pay. The October 2024 DOJ findings letter concluded that "the leadership of the Georgia Department of Corrections has lost control of its facilities" and faulted GDC for placing "too much blame on gangs and insufficient emphasis on understaffing." GPS treats staffing collapse and gang assumption of facility control as the integrated structural finding behind the per-facility violence, classification, mortality, and infrastructure narratives.
Violence, Classification Drift, and the Record of Assaults
The homicide count is not abstract. Hiwatha Abdulcah Hakeem Jr., 26, died April 12, 2021, of multiple stab wounds; an incident report shows four other prisoners were involved, and a lawsuit alleges the attackers had a history of violence and that officials failed to provide timely medical care. Desmond Hill, 35, died April 9, 2021, of strangulation; a family member reported he had called his mother the day before saying his cellmate threatened to kill him. Justin Nathaniel Wilkerson, 25, died January 5, 2021, of asphyxia due to neck compression; his mother testified at a Georgia Legislature hearing about his mental health diagnoses and prior prison attacks. Anthony Joseph Zino III, 71, died April 5, 2023, of asphyxia due to neck compression — the local coroner noted the body was badly decomposed and he had likely been dead for days. Christopher Michael Redwine, 45, died September 27, 2021, of asphyxia due to manual strangulation. Christopher Ray Reynolds, 38, died July 1, 2021, of blunt and sharp force injuries to the head and neck. Derrick Dionte Deshun Harvey, 26, died June 25, 2021, of a stab wound to the chest. John Bretleir Reyes Cardona, 24, died April 20, 2020, of exsanguination due to a stab wound to the neck. Taylor Harrison Brooks, 26, died April 10, 2020, of multiple stab wounds. Nathan Michael Mahan, 37, died October 23, 2022, of stab wounds. Calvin Darrell Denson Jr., 31, died April 26, 2023, of a stab wound to the chest; GDC said seven inmates were involved in a fight. Shaquan Jahrel Boykins, 31, died May 11, 2023, of blunt impact injuries to the head. James Adams Jr., 72, died November 8, 2023, of blunt force trauma to the head and neck. Donquerius Lamonte Mahone, 37, died February 3, 2024, from homicide. Randy O'Neal Wynn, 54, died March 2, 2023, from homicide, with the death certificate listing the investigation as pending.
The AJC's 2020 reporting described a Smith State Prison case in which a prisoner was tied up, beaten, waterboarded, and sexually assaulted by his cellmate; when hospitalized, bars of soap that had apparently been used in the assault fell out of his body. GPS's systemic reporting on sexual violence cites that 2020 Smith case among documented clusters, alongside the DOJ's October 2024 conclusion that sexual assault in GDC facilities is "rampant" and that of 456 sexual-abuse allegations recorded in 2022, only 35 were substantiated.
Classification is part of the mechanism. GDC's own data show Smith State Prison at 88.6 percent close custody. GPS has documented classification drift across Georgia's medium- and close-security prisons — facilities operating at higher security levels than designated, without the staffing or infrastructure to match. The facility profile describes Smith as designed for some of Georgia's highest-custody prisoners, with extensive segregation and special-management housing; the Tier II occupancy figure of 80.18 percent and Tier III of 70.00 percent are the department's own numbers.
GPS records show, over the past twelve months, 10 assault-by-inmate signals at critical or moderate severity, 8 staffing-shortage reports, 7 family-safety concerns, 6 death-in-custody reports, and 12 staff-misconduct allegations naming an individual — a body of reports that tracks the documented record rather than departing from it.
Food, Sanitation, and the Kitchen That Keeps Failing Inspection
The kitchen where Aureon Grace was killed has its own record. Georgia Department of Public Health food-safety inspections at Smith State Prison scored 83 (Grade B) on August 12, 2026, with four violations including proper cold holding temperatures and contamination prevention during preparation and storage; 72 (Grade C) on February 16, 2026, with nine violations; 85 (Grade B) on June 27, 2025, with six; 82 (Grade B) on January 19, 2024, with six; and 84 (Grade B) on June 29, 2023, with six. The February 2026 Grade C is the outlier and the lowest in the series.
Aramark assumed responsibility for food service operations at Smith State Prison effective October 1, 2023, under the Correctional Food Service contract — a date moved from September 1, 2023 by Amendment 5. GPS has documented a systemic pattern in which DPH scores fail to capture food-service sanitation failure, because inspections are scheduled walkthroughs that do not assess equipment under load. GPS's systemic reporting also notes that GDC spends approximately $1.69 per person per day on food (2024) and has proposed $1.60 per day in FY27 — under 60 cents per meal — against an FDA Thrifty Food Plan estimate of roughly $10 per day for an adult man's nutritionally adequate diet.
Medical and Mental Health Staffing by Contract
Centurion's proposed staffing matrix for Smith State Prison totals 784 weekly hours (19.60 FTE), including a Medical Director at 248 weekly hours (6.20 FTE), an NP/PA at 72 hours (1.80 FTE), and an RN at 96 hours (2.40 FTE). MHM's matrix allocates 3.65 mental health FTEs at 146 hours per week for an annual cost of $409,549 — 0.25 FTE Psychologist, 1.00 FTE MH Unit Manager, 2.00 FTE Mental Health Counselors, and 0.40 FTE Psychiatrist — and 3.00 dental FTEs at 120 hours per week for $425,617. Three positions carry rate cards but no allocated FTE or cost: an MH Nurse Practitioner, an Activity Therapist, and a Floating Dentist.
Against a population of 1,073, those are the contract's own numbers. GPS's registry records two deaths at Smith classified as Medical Neglect — Lawrence Leon Woods in October 2023 and Dwayne Eric Albritton in March 2026 — and two more as Natural/Medical.
Settlements, Suits, and the Cost of the Record
Georgia's DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger records payouts tied to Smith State Prison: $1,450,000 in the Christopher Heath matter (2020), $450,000 in the Julia Roberts matter (2023), $75,000 in the Ricardo Tavera Jaramillo matter (2014), $15,000 in the Rufus Newberry matter (2018), and $3,472 in the Micki Antonio Brown matter (2022).
Beyond the Hagins and Kicklighter suits, a Tattnall County State Court action seeks damages from former Warden Brian Adams and former officer Ireon Moore, alleging they allowed contraband including cell phones, narcotics, and weapons and facilitated a criminal conspiracy to kill a non-complicit correctional officer. The Southern Center for Human Rights sued GDC over prison conditions in 2021, as reported by The Marshall Project. GPS records show three lawsuit-filed signals concentrated in May 2026, and three external complaints filed to oversight bodies in October 2026.
A Facility Under Pressure
On April 1, 2026, an altercation at Smith State Prison — officials believe it was gang-related — sent two inmates to local hospitals by airlift. The altercation was contained to one dorm, and GDC placed all of its facilities on lockdown out of an abundance of caution until further notice. WTOC reported the system-wide lockdown. GPS records show assault-by-inmate signals clustering in April and June 2026 at critical severity, and staffing-shortage reports clustering in October 2026.
In 2023, seven shakedowns inside Smith State Prison yielded 1,509 weapons, 694 cell phones, 854 phone chargers, 7.55 kilos of marijuana, and 12.53 kilos of tobacco. The same year, Georgia set a record for prison homicides with 37 deaths, including the killing of a correctional officer at Smith. In fiscal year 2023, department records show 40 homicides and 38 suicides across Georgia state prisons.
GPS has received accounts of use-of-force and in-custody-death allegations at Smith State Prison, and recurring reports of gang-coordinated retaliation against staff. These are registered as reports, not findings.
The people held at Smith State Prison have described it in their own words. In a Tell My Story account published by Georgia Prisoners' Speak, an author writing as Forever19 — who spent seven years at Smith and Hays — describes arriving at Smith after three years at Telfair and being coerced into a sexual relationship by an older prisoner: "I felt like if I didn't do it, I would've gotten hurt. I've never told anyone this before." He describes Smith as "a place that bred violence. Still is, I imagine. It was understaffed back in the early '90s, so I can only guess how bad it is now." In another Tell My Story account, an author writing as Jacs describes a unit manager named Jacob Beasley — later warden of Smith State Prison, now warden at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison — who, when told the heat was on in the tier cells in July, said he knew and had turned it on on purpose.
Sources
This analysis draws on reporting by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia Public Broadcasting, WTOC, The Georgia Virtue, The Marshall Project, and In These Times; Georgia Department of Public Health food-safety inspection records; Georgia Department of Corrections purchase orders, contract amendments, staffing matrices, and Tier Segregation System data; GBI Division of Forensic Sciences autopsy reports and Georgia death certificates obtained through open-records production and county coroner requests; Tattnall County coroner records; the Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger; federal and state court filings, including the Hagins wrongful-death action and the Kicklighter wrongful-death action; on-record testimony in Tattnall County Superior Court and public statements by former GDC personnel; Tell My Story narratives published by Georgia Prisoners' Speak; and GPS's mortality registry, facility records, and intelligence signals.
Mortality Statistics
38 deaths documented at this facility from 2020 to present.
Deaths by Year
- 2026: 3
- 2025: 1
- 2024: 6
- 2023: 11
- 2022: 5
- 2021: 7
- 2020: 5
County Public Health Department
Food service and sanitation at SMITH STATE PRISON fall under the jurisdiction of the Tattnall County Environmental Health Department. Incarcerated people cannot choose where they eat — public health inspectors carry an elevated responsibility to hold this kitchen to the same standards applied to any restaurant.
Contact
- Title
- EH Specialist
- Name
- Lance Dasher
- Address
-
P.O. Box 353
Glennville, GA 30427 - Phone
- (855) 473-4374
- Lance.Dasher@dph.ga.gov
- Website
- Visit department website →
Why this matters
GPS has documented black mold on chow-hall ceilings, cold and contaminated trays, spoiled milk, and pest contamination at Georgia prisons. The Department of Justice's 2024 report confirmed deaths from dehydration and untreated diabetes tied to food and water deprivation. Advance-notice inspections let facilities stage temporary fixes that disappear once inspectors leave.
Unannounced inspections by the county health department are one of the few outside checks on kitchen conditions behind the fence.
How you can help
Write to the county inspector and request an unannounced inspection of the kitchen and food service operation at this facility. A short, respectful letter citing Georgia food-safety regulations is more powerful than you think — inspectors respond to public concern.
Sample Letter
This is the letter Georgia Prisoners' Speak mailed to all county environmental health inspectors responsible for GDC facilities. Feel free to adapt it.
November 14, 2026
RE: Request for Unannounced Public Health Inspection of Food Service Operations at SMITH STATE PRISON
Dear Lance Dasher,
I am writing to respectfully request that your office conduct a thorough, unannounced inspection of food service and sanitation practices at SMITH STATE PRISON, located in Tattnall County.
Documented concerns
Georgia Prisoners' Speak, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit investigative newsroom, has published extensive investigative reporting on food safety and nutrition failures across Georgia's prison system, including:
- Dangerous sanitation conditions — black mold on chow hall ceilings and air vents, contaminated food trays, and spoiled milk served to inmates.
- Severe nutritional deficiency — roughly 60 cents per meal; inmates receive only 40% of required protein and less than one serving of vegetables per day.
- Preventable deaths — the U.S. Department of Justice's 2024 report confirmed deaths from dehydration, renal failure, and untreated diabetes following food and water deprivation.
- Staged compliance — advance-notice inspections allow facilities to stage temporary improvements, then revert once inspectors leave.
Firsthand testimony
In Surviving on Scraps: Ten Years of Prison Food in Georgia, a person who has spent more than ten years in GDC custody describes no functional dishwashing sanitation, chronic mold on food trays, and roaches found on the undersides of trays at intake facilities. Full account: gps.press/surviving-on-scraps-ten-years-of-prison-food-in-georgia.
Specific requests
- Conduct an unannounced inspection of the kitchen and food service operations at this facility, with particular attention to dishwashing equipment, tray sanitation procedures, and food storage conditions.
- Evaluate compliance with applicable Georgia food safety regulations, including O.C.G.A. § 26-2-370 and the Georgia Food Service Rules and Regulations (Chapter 511-6-1).
- Verify permit status and confirm whether the facility is subject to the same inspection schedule as other institutional food service establishments in the county.
- Make inspection results available to the public, as permitted under Georgia's Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70).
Incarcerated individuals cannot advocate for their own health and safety in the way a restaurant patron can — they cannot choose to eat elsewhere. This places an elevated responsibility on public health officials to ensure these facilities meet the same sanitation standards applied to any food service establishment.
Thank you for your attention to this important public health matter.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Food Safety Inspections
Georgia Department of Public Health
What the score doesn't measure. DPH grades kitchen compliance on inspection day — food storage, temperatures, pest control. It does not grade whether today's trays are clean. GPS reporting has found broken dishwashers at most Georgia state prisons we've documented; trays go out wet, stacked, and visibly moldy — including at facilities with recent scores near 100.
Who inspects. Most Georgia state prisons sit in rural counties — often with fewer than 20,000 people, several with fewer than 10,000. The environmental health inspector lives in that community and often knows the kitchen staff personally. Rural inspection regimes don't have the structural independence you'd expect in a city-sized health department. Read the scores accordingly.
Read the investigation: “Dunked, Stacked and Served: Why Georgia Prison Trays Are Making People Sick”
Recent inspections
| Date | Score | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 2026 | 83 | Routine | |
| Feb 16, 2026 | 72 | Routine | |
| Jun 27, 2025 | 85 | Routine | |
| Jan 19, 2024 | 82 | Routine | |
| Jun 29, 2023 | 84 | Routine |
August 12, 2026 — Score 83
Routine · Inspector: Lance Dasher
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6-1A |
proper cold holding temperatures 511-6-1.04(6)(f) - time/temperature control for safety; cold holding (p) Corrected | 9 | Observed milk in carton at 44 F, unit has been serviced and is cooling down. Milk out of the cooler has to be maintained at 41 F for service, need a insulated storage unit. |
| 12A |
contamination prevented during food preparation, storage, display 511-6-1.04(4)(z) - miscellaneous sources of contamination (c) Corrected Repeat | 3 | Observed water bottle, carton milk, container of food stored in ice maker. Remove and clean. Observed trays of chicken stored on top of each other without a liner. Separate. |
| 15C |
nonfood-contact surfaces clean 511-6-1.05(7)(d) - nonfood-contact surfaces (c) | 1 | Observed food debris on clean dish storage racks, clean. |
| 18 |
insects, rodents, and animals not present 511-6-1.07(5)(k) - controlling pests (pf, c) | 3 | Observed roaches at dishwashing area. |
February 16, 2026 — Score 72
Routine · Inspector: Lance Dasher
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6-1A |
proper cold holding temperatures 511-6-1.04(6)(f) - time/temperature control for safety; cold holding (p) | 9 | Observed milk temperature at 44 F-45 F in dairy cooler, move contents out of unit until fixed |
| 10D |
food properly labeled; original container 511-6-1.04(7)(d) - other forms of information (c) | 3 | Observed trays of food in storage, cooked vegetables, no date and food labeling. Discard. |
| 11D |
thermometers provided and accurate 511-6-1.05(2)(x) - tmd, located in refrigerators/ hot holding (pf, c) Repeat | 3 | Observed walk in units missing thermometers and some units with thermometers installed at fan units. Move towards entrance of coolers. |
| 12A |
contamination prevented during food preparation, storage, display 511-6-1.04(4)(z) - miscellaneous sources of contamination (c) | 3 | Observed a jug of water stored in ice maker, remove and clean. |
| 14C |
single-use/single-service articles: properly stored, used 511-6-1.05(6)(r) - single-service/single-use articles, use limitations (c) | 1 | Observed single service cups being used to dispense food products at secondary dry storage. Use scoops with handles. |
| 16B |
plumbing installed; proper backflow devices 511-6-1.06(2)(r) - system maintained in good repair (p, c) | 2 | Observed foot valves not working on hand wash sink, and sink is not secured. Observed hose bibb/spigot at four compartment sink broken, will not shut off. Observed in dishwasher room spray nozzle/faucet is broken and will not shut off. Observed floor drains that are clogged with trash. |
| 17C |
physical facilities installed, maintained, and clean 511-6-1.07(5)(a),(b) - good repair, physical facilities maintained; cleaning, frequency & restrictions, cleaned often enough to keep them clean (c) Repeat | 1 | Observed wall damage in bakery room, clean and paint, observed mildew in dishwasher room, floor, wall, and ceiling. Observed floor in back dry storage in small room with food debris behind shelving. Observed ceiling damage in cage room, water damage. Observed floor by cook station pitting, small holes in flooring. Observed roll up door needing a new gasket. |
| 17D |
adequate ventilation and lighting; designated areas used 511-6-1.07(2)(i) - light bulbs, protective shielding (c) | 1 | Observed cage covers/light shields missing in walk in cooler units. |
| 18 |
insects, rodents, and animals not present 511-6-1.07(5)(k) - controlling pests (pf, c) Repeat | 3 | Observed roach activity at bakery room, and at tray making station. |
June 27, 2025 — Score 85
Routine · Inspector: Lance Dasher
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4-2A |
food stored covered 511-6-1.04(4)(c)1(iv) - packaged & unpackaged food, food stored covered(c) Corrected | 4 | Observed open of RTE deli meat uncovered in walk in cooler. Discarded. |
| 11D |
thermometers provided and accurate 511-6-1.05(2)(x) - tmd, located in refrigerators/ hot holding (pf, c) | 3 | Observed walk in cooler(s) with thermometers missing, move thermometers that are present towards door of units. |
| 15A |
food and nonfood-contact surfaces cleanable, properly designed, constructed, and used 511-6-1.05(1)(a) - materials, general requirements (p, c) | 1 | Observed raw wood from under shelving at four compartment sink station, remove. |
| 16B |
plumbing installed; proper backflow devices 511-6-1.06(2)(r) - system maintained in good repair (p, c) | 2 | Observed faucet heads missing in serve line, reinstall. Install pluming under sinks that are missing in tray wash room and prep room. |
| 17C |
physical facilities installed, maintained, and clean 511-6-1.07(5)(a),(b) - good repair, physical facilities maintained; cleaning, frequency & restrictions, cleaned often enough to keep them clean (c) | 1 | Observed walk in freezer floors that need cleaning, debris/trash. Observed inside warehouse roll up door is damaged and needs replacing, large gap at bottom. The storage area has issues with gaps at the floor/way juncture, allowing mice and roaches entry. Seal. |
| 18 |
insects, rodents, and animals not present 511-6-1.07(5)(k) - controlling pests (pf, c) Repeat | 3 | Observed flies, roaches, and rodent droppings at areas in facility, manager has been shown hot spots. Increase vector control. |
January 19, 2024 — Score 82
Routine · Inspector: Lance Dasher
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-2B |
proper eating, tasting, drinking, or tobacco use 511-6-1.03(5)(k)1&2 - eating, drinking, or using tobacco (c) Corrected | 4 | Observed drinks in kitchen not in a designated area away from prep and storage, in bakery, prep area, and serve line. |
| 4-2B |
food-contact surfaces: cleaned & sanitized 511-6-1.05(6)(n) - manual and mechanical warewashing equipment, chemical sanitization-temperature, ph, concentration, hardness (p,pf) Corrected | 4 | Observed sanitizer level in sink not detectable, water dropped and refilled. |
| 15A |
food and nonfood-contact surfaces cleanable, properly designed, constructed, and used 511-6-1.05(6)(a) - good repair & proper adjustment (c) Repeat | 1 | Observed tilt skillet with wood used to provide support, remove (repeat). Observed latch to dairy cooler door broken, repair. |
| 16B |
plumbing installed; proper backflow devices 511-6-1.06(2)(r) - system maintained in good repair (p, c) Repeat | 2 | Observed faucet leaks at 4 compartment sink, prep sinks, tray machine room rinse station, utility room faucet. |
| 17C |
physical facilities installed, maintained, and clean 511-6-1.07(5)(a),(b) - good repair, physical facilities maintained; cleaning, frequency & restrictions, cleaned often enough to keep them clean (c) Repeat | 1 | Observed ceiling damage in areas of kitchen, pack out room, washing area, side door entrance. Bakery room has wall damage due to metal pans. |
| 18 |
insects, rodents, and animals not present 511-6-1.07(5)(k) - controlling pests (pf, c) | 3 | Observed rodent activity in side warehouse and at caged equipment/spices. Roach activity in tray machine room and serving line by side entrance. |
June 29, 2023 — Score 84
Routine · Inspector: Lance Dasher
| Code | Violation | Pts | Inspector notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-2D |
adequate handwashing facilities supplied & accessible 511-6-1.06(2)(o) - using a handwashing sink- operation & maintenance (pf) | 4 | Observed hand wash station with no faucet head, and no soap. |
| 12A |
contamination prevented during food preparation, storage, display 511-6-1.04(4)(z) - miscellaneous sources of contamination (c) Corrected | 3 | Observed plastic food trays and jug of water in bottom of ice maker, removed, clean unit. |
| 15A |
food and nonfood-contact surfaces cleanable, properly designed, constructed, and used 511-6-1.05(6)(a) - good repair & proper adjustment (c) Repeat | 1 | Observed steam and condensation buildup in tray washing room. Areas under machine and shelving has black mildew on surfaces. Observed pieces of wood used to level tilting skillets, remove and use metal or plastic to elevate. |
| 16B |
plumbing installed; proper backflow devices 511-6-1.06(2)(r) - system maintained in good repair (p, c) | 2 | Observed sinks at dishwashing area with leaks on faucets and drain pipes. Floor drain was clogged, but was cleared. Observed sinks that could not shut off water flow in tray serving areas. |
| 17C |
physical facilities installed, maintained, and clean 511-6-1.07(5)(a),(b) - good repair, physical facilities maintained; cleaning, frequency & restrictions, cleaned often enough to keep them clean (c) Repeat | 1 | Observed rollup door damaged at small warehouse, spice storage room needs ventilation and continue painting. Ceiling damage observed in pack out room, serve line, and dishwashing area. |
| 18 |
insects, rodents, and animals not present 511-6-1.07(5)(k) - controlling pests (pf, c) | 3 | Observed flies in kitchen, need to keep exterior hallway for garbage disposal closed as much as possible, plastic curtain not be used properly (tied back). Rodent activity is at a better level. |
Recent reports (66)
Source-attributed observations and allegations from news coverage and reports submitted to GPS. Each entry credits its source.
- ALLEGATION According to The Georgia Virtue Published: Oct 26, 2026Jennifer Lynn Thrasher is accused of smuggling methamphetamine into Smith State Prison for her incarcerated husband over a three-year period.
"The Atlantic Circuit District Attorney's Office has filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking $115,710.36 from Jennifer Lynn Thrasher, 50, of Macon, who is accused of smuggling methamphetamine into Smith State Prison for her incarcerated husband, Jamaine Thrasher, according to the article."
Read source → - ALLEGATION According to The Georgia Virtue Published: Oct 26, 2026Court documents allege that on August 22, 2026, Jennifer Lynn Thrasher carried four bundles of methamphetamine into Smith State Prison.
"Court documents cited in the report allege that on August 22, 2026, she carried four bundles of methamphetamine into…"
Read source → - ALLEGATION According to The Georgia Virtue Published: Jun 22, 2026Adams and Moore facilitated a criminal enterprise within the prison that led to Kicklighter's murder.
"The lawsuit, filed by the family of Bobby C. Kicklighter, alleges that Adams and Moore facilitated a criminal enterprise operating from within the prison, which led to Kicklighter's murder in a botched murder-for-hire scheme in 2021."
Read source → - ALLEGATION According to The Georgia Virtue Published: Jun 22, 2026Adams and Moore facilitated a criminal enterprise within the prison that led to Kicklighter's murder.
"The lawsuit, filed by the family of Bobby C. Kicklighter, alleges that Adams and Moore facilitated a criminal enterprise operating from within the prison, which led to Kicklighter's murder in a botched murder-for-hire scheme in 2021."
Read source → - ALLEGATION According to WTOC Published: May 1, 2025A former employee sexually assaulted a corrections employee.
"A former employee of Smith State Prison in Georgia has been charged with sexual assault involving a corrections employee."
Read source →
Timeline (143)
Source Articles (40)
Former leadership
Officials who previously held leadership roles at this facility.
| Role | Name | Tenure | Deaths this facility / career |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warden (facility lead) | Adams, Brian Dennis | 2019-10-01 → 2023-02-08 | 17 / 17 |
| WARDEN 3 (facility lead) | Beasley, Jacob | 2023-11-22 → 2024-12-31 | 6 / 48 |
| CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT (facility lead) | Todd, Curtis J | 2025-01-01 → 2025-01-31 | — / 1 |
| Warden (facility lead) | Mims, Charles | 2026-07-05 → present | — / — |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | McFarlane, Andrew M | 2019-01-01 → 2022-12-31 | 17 / 53 |
| Deputy Warden of Security (facility deputy) | Henderson, Marcus | 2019-01-01 → 2023-01-01 | 17 / 17 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | Foulks, Rodney | 2023-11-22 → 2025-12-31 | 7 / 7 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | COX, Eric | 2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31 | 7 / 51 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | Epperson, Alicia | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 | 5 / 5 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | Brown, Vashti J | 2019-01-01 → 2020-12-31 | 5 / 12 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | Smith, Tarmarshe A | 2016-01-01 → 2017-12-31 | — / 36 |
| Clinical Chaplain (specialty lead) | Hill, Bernard | 2023-11-22 → 2026-08-27 | — / — |