WASHINGTON STATE PRISON

Last updated August 23, 2026.(DS)

Washington State Prison: A Medium-Security Facility Operating as a Close-Security Kill Zone

Washington State Prison in Davisboro opened in 1991 as a medium-security facility for adult male felons. With a current rated capacity of 1,548 beds — more than double its original design capacity of 750 — the prison houses both minimum- and medium-custody prisoners in dormitories and cellblocks, plus segregation and support units. The facility provides work details for surrounding communities and limited educational, vocational, and faith-based programming. GPS's mortality database records 39 deaths at the facility since 2020, including 13 homicides, 6 overdoses, and 1 death attributed to medical neglect. The population as of the most recent snapshot stood at 1,215 — 78.5% of rated capacity — yet the violence documented here has persisted at a scale that belies that figure.

The January 2026 Riot: Four Dead, Six Officers on Duty

On January 11, 2026, a gang war erupted at Washington State Prison during visitation hours. Multiple fights broke out on a sidewalk and spilled into the visitation area around 1:25 p.m., according to reporting by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Three men were killed at the scene: Teddy Jackson, 27; Ahmod Hatcher, 23; and Jimmy Trammell, 42, who was days from release after serving time for burglary. Thirteen additional inmates were injured and transported to local hospitals, along with one correctional officer who sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Prison staff deployed non-lethal weapons and regained control by approximately 3 p.m.

A fourth death followed. Silas Westbrook, 42, had been treated for what were described as minor injuries and transferred to Metro Reentry Facility, where he suffered a medical emergency upon arrival on January 17 and was pronounced dead. The GDC's Office of Professional Standards is investigating.

The most damning detail emerged from GPS's own open-records request: six officers were on duty at the facility when the riot began. GPS reporting documented this figure, and it sits within a broader pattern GPS has established systemwide — officer vacancy rates between 49.3% and 60% across Georgia's prisons for multiple years, against a national standard of no more than 10%. Former GDC sergeant Tyler Ryals, who was forced out in 2024 after whistleblowing, told GPS he had personally been the only security person on an entire compound of roughly 1,250 maximum-security inmates at Telfair State Prison. His witness statement was signed at Washington State Prison, and GPS's reporting has carried his account as corroboration of the staffing collapse that made the January riot possible.

The GDC characterized the disturbance as "gang-affiliated," a framing the department repeated across multiple outlets including WGXA, 13WMAZ, and 11Alive. In April 2026, twelve inmates were charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, gang participation, and unlawful acts of violence in a penal institution for their alleged roles in the riot. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the charges on April 28.

The Five-Deaths Week and the Pattern of Violence

The riot did not occur in isolation. Two days before it, on January 9, Dajhmere Hall, 30, was found dead at the facility; his cause of death remains listed as Unknown/Pending in GPS's mortality database. Together with the four riot deaths, the period from January 9 through January 17 constitutes what GPS's reporting has called "Georgia's Deadliest Prison Week" — five deaths in eight days at a single facility.

The violence at Washington State Prison predates January 2026 by years. GPS's mortality database records 8 deaths in 2022, 6 in 2023, 5 in 2024, and 10 in 2025. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's homicide-tracking coverage has documented individual killings at the facility: Marquis Reshawn Jefferson, 26, died May 12, 2022, from stab wounds to the torso and arm, with an incident report indicating four other inmates were involved. Michael Lee Jackson, 60, died August 17, 2022, from multiple blunt force injuries in the setting of hypertensive cardiovascular disease. Devonte Tiger Williams, 26, died August 9, 2024, from multiple sharp force injuries to the torso, head, and neck. Jacob Cole Henson, 31, was fatally shot by a GDC officer on April 23, 2024, at a hospital where he had been taken for treatment of injuries from a stabbing earlier that day.

The deaths continued after the riot. In June 2026, two men died within a day of each other: Courtney Davis, 43, on June 13, and Isreal Jones, 68, on June 14. GDC reported no signs of foul play or altercation in either case, with causes of death undetermined and bodies sent to the GBI Crime Lab. Deshawn Poole, 34, died June 9, 2026, and is classified as a homicide in GPS's mortality database.

Classification Drift and Gang Control of Housing

GPS has documented a systemic pattern of classification drift across Georgia's prisons: medium-security facilities operating as close-security institutions without adequate staffing or infrastructure. Washington State Prison is a case study in that failure. Inmate accounts collected by GPS describe a significant percentage of the medium-security facility's population classified at the higher close-security level, with individuals serving life sentences for violent offenses assigned to medium custody without clear explanation.

The consequence is gang control of housing. GPS's internal analysis indicates that facility leadership has allowed a single gang — the Bloods — to control most dorms and the compound, with Bloods members assigned to nearly all positions granting free movement around the prison. Inmate witnesses report that non-affiliated incarcerated people are often required to live in showers, under stairs, in TV rooms, or on the floors of other inmates' cells. Multiple dormitories have been under the control of security threat groups during the past two years, with conflicts primarily between Bloods, Muslims, and Gangster Disciples.

The January riot itself followed this pattern. GPS's reporting describes Gangster Disciples from one dormitory swarming Bloods in another, with knives passed through an unlocked gate in a housing unit. In the aftermath, GPS analysis indicates that several incarcerated persons involved in the altercation were not sanctioned, charged, or transferred, while the rest of the facility was placed on continuous lockdown.

The Lockdown That Never Ended

Washington State Prison has remained on lockdown since January 11, 2026 — more than five months at the time of this writing. GPS's reporting has documented that the facility never reopened. The lockdown has produced its own set of harms. GPS analysis indicates that uninvolved inmates were subjected to lockdowns that denied them access to television, news, visitation, exercise, phones, the law library, and religious services. A $30 per week commissary spending cap was imposed on inmates not involved in the violence, while a specific incarcerated group was permitted $80 weekly purchases. Commissary resale operations ran among inmates, generating over $1,000 in weekly profit, according to GPS's internal analysis.

Physical evidence submitted to GPS shows the commissary restrictions in detail: per-order limits on drink mixes, cupcakes, pies, cookies, meat items, rice, soup, chips, candy bars, water, and soda. Physical evidence also shows a meal served to incarcerated persons consisting of rice and sauce in a styrofoam bowl. GPS has documented a systemic pattern of food-service inadequacy across GDC facilities, with the state spending approximately $1.69 per person per day on food in 2024 — under 60 cents per meal — versus the FDA Thrifty Food Plan estimate of roughly $10 per day for an adult man's nutritionally adequate diet. The Marshall Project independently corroborated this pattern on May 16, 2026, reporting rats in kitchens, insects in food, moldy trays, and visible malnutrition across Georgia facilities.

Medical Neglect and the Cancellation of Physician Orders

The medical neglect at Washington State Prison is documented in granular detail across GPS's records. A recurring theme in inmate and family accounts is a nurse practitioner at the facility cancelling physician-ordered care. GPS's internal analysis indicates that this nurse practitioner has been cancelling physician-ordered care for an incarcerated person since at least 2024. Specific allegations include the cancellation of orthotic shoe profiles immediately after shoes were provided, discontinuation of heart medication without an examination or EKG, cancellation of immunosuppressants, vitamins, and respiratory medications, and repeated overruling of physician-ordered special diets.

A family member reports that an incarcerated person was without prescribed heart medication for two months. Another family member alleges that a doctor-ordered diet was cancelled by an unknown person. Inmate witnesses report that diabetic inmates have experienced gaps of up to 10 days in their medications, and that all diabetic prisoners are given insulin twice daily at set times, regardless of mealtimes or blood sugar levels. A staff member at the facility reportedly said a medical standard operating procedure does not cover hypoglycemia, though GDC SOP 409.04.09 does cover the condition.

The physical evidence corroborates the broader pattern. A meal served at Washington State Prison consisted of rice with a tomato-based sauce in a styrofoam bowl. Physical evidence shows overcrowded or cramped cell conditions. Family members report black mold on shower walls, ceiling sections falling in, deteriorated sleeping bunks, and roofing problems.

Staff Corruption and the Contraband Economy

The January riot was followed within days by the arrest of a Washington State Prison officer. Adriana Carnelio, 27, was arrested approximately January 14, 2026 — three days after the riot — by the GBI and Ocmulgee Drug Task Force on charges including possession of cocaine and methamphetamine with intent to distribute, plus firearms offenses. Her co-defendant was identified as Q. Peacock.

The contraband economy at Washington State Prison is extensive. Luis Alfonso Ramirez directed a drug trafficking network from the facility using contraband cellphones, according to WGXA. A federal investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation resulted in the indictment of Ramirez and six accomplices for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, involving the seizure of 35 kg of methamphetamine and 3.5 kg of fentanyl valued at $225,000, plus $145,000 in cash. Separately, Jeffery White led a methamphetamine network from the facility that distributed more than 200 pounds of crystal meth in Volusia County, Florida in one year, with nearly 40 arrest warrants issued, according to the AJC.

Inmate witnesses report that security threat groups with free movement assignments regularly receive advance warning of shakedowns, that virtually all inmates with free movement job assignments are STG members or close associates, and that contraband hidden during shakedowns is handed off to gang members for safekeeping. GPS analysis indicates that an incarcerated person was caught with contraband including cellphones, drugs, and weapons on multiple occasions over a recent six-month period without receiving a disciplinary report or losing their job.

The DOJ Findings and the Systemwide Context

The conditions at Washington State Prison do not exist in a vacuum. The U.S. Department of Justice found in 2024 that Georgia prison officials are "deliberately indifferent" to unchecked deadly violence, widespread drug use, extortion, and sexual abuse at state lockups. The DOJ report described violence, sexual assaults, and gang-run prisons in Georgia fueled by a culture of indifference. The October 2024 findings letter explicitly 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."

A consultant study commissioned by Governor Brian Kemp found that buildings with maintenance issues enabled prisoners to make weapons, locks didn't work allowing easy cell escapes, and understaffing left movements unmonitored. State Rep. Billy Hitchens alleged the prison system is not making meaningful progress toward preventing inmates from jamming or disabling cell-door locks, which allows inmates to roam freely and commit attacks, according to 41NBC.

GPS's aggregate signals for Washington State Prison over the past 12 months show 36 sources reporting assault by inmate, 27 sources reporting death in custody, 12 sources reporting staff misconduct with named individuals, and 9 sources reporting external complaints filed to entities including the DOJ Civil Rights Division, the GBI, the GDC Ombudsman, and State Representative Billy Hitchens. The January 2026 riot month alone shows 12 sources reporting assault by inmate and 10 sources reporting death in custody.

Leadership and Accountability

Veronica Stewart serves as warden of Washington State Prison. GPS's reporting has documented her appointment without advanced leadership qualifications, promoted through security ranks without documented leadership training. Deputy Warden of Security Tamara Grier was appointed in November 2025, bringing more than 22 years of experience in Georgia's correctional system, according to GDC.

The accountability picture is stark. GPS's reporting describes an escalation regarding a Washington State Prison prisoner that produced an evening call-out to a Regional Director and a Warden, a request for the names of the men who needed removing, and then no action. Ahmed Holt appears in GPS Case #6 as the official contacted in February 2026 about the danger to a prisoner at Washington State Prison. A family member reports that emails to the GDC Ombudsman regarding Washington State Prison received no response.

The facility's own food-safety inspection history tells a story of surface compliance masking deeper failures. The Georgia Department of Public Health scored the facility's kitchens at 77 (Grade C) in June 2023, then 97, 94, and 91 (all Grade A) in subsequent inspections through November 2025. Yet GPS has documented a systemic pattern of food-service sanitation failure across GDC kitchens that DPH inspection scores systematically fail to capture — broken tray-sanitizing dishwashers, sustained roach and rodent infestation, and meals served on visibly contaminated trays. The contradiction between high DPH scores and sustained witness reports of equipment failure and food contamination is the analytical center of GPS's investigation "Dunked, Stacked, and Served."

Sources

This analysis draws on reporting from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 13WMAZ, WGXA, 41NBC, 11Alive, WTOC, and The Marshall Project; Georgia Department of Public Health inspection records; GDC open-records productions and official statements; federal court filings and DOJ findings; GPS's own investigative reporting including "They Knew: Empty Posts, Broken Locks, and Georgia's Deadliest Prison Week" and "Dunked, Stacked, and Served"; GPS's mortality database; and inmate and family accounts collected by GPS staff.