WASHINGTON STATE PRISON

Analysis written on June 7, 2026.

Washington State Prison in Davisboro, Georgia, is a medium-security facility for adult men that opened in 1991 with an original design capacity of 750 but is now configured for 1,548 beds. On January 11, 2026, the prison became the site of one of the deadliest gang-related disturbances in recent Georgia history. In the months since, the facility has remained on continuous lockdown, families have reported severe food restrictions, and GPS intelligence has tracked a surge of violence, medical neglect, and infrastructure failure. This analysis weaves together public reporting, GDC records, documents, and firsthand accounts collected by Georgia Prisoners’ Speak (GPS) to explain how a medium-security prison became a killing ground.

The January 2026 Riot: A Gang War During Visitation

Shortly after 1:25 p.m. on January 11, 2026, multiple fights erupted at Washington State Prison, spilling from housing areas into the visitation space. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and 13WMAZ reported that three incarcerated men — Jimmy Trammell (42), Ahmod Hatcher (23), and Teddy Jackson (27) — were killed in the initial brawl, and 13 others were hospitalized with injuries. A correctional officer also sustained non-life-threatening wounds. The GDC described the episode as a “gang-affiliated disturbance” and stated that staff deployed non-lethal weapons to regain control by roughly 3 p.m.

GPS’s own investigative coverage, corroborated by family and inmate accounts, described a far more chaotic scene: incarcerated people armed with improvised knives entered the visiting area while families were present. Multiple inmate witnesses reported that rival gang factions were involved, that individuals exited housing units without authorization, and that law enforcement and medical helicopters descended on the facility. A family member who was present told GPS that visitors were abruptly evacuated while injured incarcerated people moved through the visitation room. Within days, GPS confirmed a fourth death — Silas Westbrook, 42, initially treated for minor injuries, died following what GDC called a “medical emergency” during transfer — and then a fifth, unnamed individual who succumbed at Jefferson County Hospital.

Twelve incarcerated men were subsequently charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, and gang participation in connection with the riot. The GDC investigation remains active, but the facility has never reopened for normal operations. GPS reporting documented that the prison entered a continuous lockdown on January 11 that extended well beyond 50 days without commissary access for the general population, a measure families characterized as collective punishment.

Five Deaths in One Week and a Continuum of Violence

The riot’s fatalities were not isolated. GPS’s mortality database records 38 deaths at Washington State Prison overall, and the week of January 11 saw five deaths in a single facility: Trammell, Hatcher, Jackson, Westbrook, and Dajhmere Hall, a 30-year-old found dead two days before the riot. The deadly brawl fit a longstanding pattern of inmate-on-inmate homicide at the prison. In August 2024, Devonte Tiger Williams, 26, died from multiple sharp-force injuries to his torso, head, and neck. Jamie Shahan was severely beaten in a series of gang attacks in early 2025 and placed on life support with brain injuries. Dontavis Carter was found murdered in a pool of blood in January 2025, and an incident was captured on a contraband cellphone. Earlier, Michael Lee Jackson, 60, was killed by blunt force in 2022, and Marquis Reshawn Jefferson, 26, died from stab wounds the same year.

GPS’s intelligence system tracked a high concentration of assault-by-inmate signals across four months in 2026, with seven critical- and high-severity reports in January alone. External complaints in that period were filed with the U.S. Department of Justice and State Representative Billy Hitchens, underscoring the severity of the breakdown.

Classification Drift: Medium on Paper, Maximum in Practice

Washington State Prison is designated as a medium-security facility, but GPS’s systemic reporting on classification drift has shown that Georgia’s medium-security prisons routinely house close-security inmates without the staffing levels, cell-door infrastructure, or programming that higher-custody settings demand. The prison was originally designed for 750 people but now holds 1,179, and physical evidence provided to GPS shows cramped cell conditions. GPS’s October 2025 report, The Classification Crisis: How Four Medium Security Prisons Are Killing People, identified Washington State Prison as a site where this dynamic has become lethal.

The mismatch is not subtle. The GDC’s own data, analyzed by GPS, shows that the facility operates with a fraction of the correctional officer posts needed for its actual population profile. The U.S. Department of Justice’s 2024 findings letter concluded that Georgia prison officials are “deliberately indifferent” to the violence, and consultant assessments commissioned by Governor Brian Kemp found that broken locks and unsupervised movement areas allowed incarcerated people to roam freely and manufacture weapons. Former incarcerated individual Brandon told 13WMAZ that Washington State Prison was the worst facility he had experienced, describing a place where people carry and use deadly knives daily with no staff intervention, and where he himself was robbed, beaten, and stabbed multiple times.

Infrastructure Collapse: Broken Locks, Mold, and a Kitchen That Failed Inspection

Georgia’s prison infrastructure is aging and deteriorating, and Washington State Prison exemplifies the systemic failures identified by the DOJ and the Governor’s consultants. Physical evidence provided to GPS shows overcrowded cells. Family members report black mold on shower walls, ceiling sections falling in, rusted bunks, and roofing problems. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted that maintenance failures allowed incarcerated people to strip materials for weapons, while non-functioning locks made it impossible to secure individuals in their cells.

Kitchen sanitation is a particular concern. Georgia Department of Public Health inspection records show that Washington State Prison received a failing “C” grade of 77 in June 2023, with violations for inadequate hot- and cold-holding temperatures, food-contact surface sanitation, and insect and rodent presence. A separate kitchen area scored 88 that same day. More recent inspections in 2024 and 2025 recorded grades of 91–98, but GPS’s systemic investigation Dunked, Stacked, and Served has documented that DPH scores do not capture real sanitation conditions because inspections are scheduled walkthroughs that miss equipment breakdowns under load. Inmate witnesses and families report sustained roach infestation and meals served on contaminated trays — patterns corroborated by The Marshall Project’s 2026 investigation into Georgia prison food. In addition, GPS records show four sanitation failure allegations at the facility from February to May 2026 alone.

Food Insecurity and Commissary Lockdown

The food served inside Washington State Prison has been a flashpoint. GPS has documented that GDC spends approximately $1.69 per person per day on food — under 60 cents per meal, against an FDA Thrifty Food Plan estimate of roughly $10 per day for a nutritionally adequate diet. Physical evidence sent to GPS shows meals consisting of rice and a tomato-based sauce in a styrofoam bowl. Earl White, a former incarcerated person, told 13WMAZ that dorms sometimes received spoiled food, while insects and rats were common in living areas.

Commissary spending becomes essential when state meals are inadequate, but physical evidence and family reports show that Washington State Prison imposed strict per-item quantity caps on virtually every commissary category: water, sodas, rice, meat, soup, chips, candy, cookies, pies, cupcakes, and drink mixes. The restrictions limit purchases to only a few items per order, leaving incarcerated people unable to buy enough food to supplement state meals. Following the January riot, families say the prison withheld commissary access entirely from the general population for weeks, exempting only those on work details, and prohibited families from sending food. GPS records show three food-quality complaints and multiple reports of food insufficiency during the lockdown period.

Staffing Collapse, Abandoned Posts, and Gang Control

Georgia’s correctional-officer vacancies have run between 49% and 76% systemwide for years. At Washington State Prison, the consequences are stark. Former incarcerated person Brandon told 13WMAZ that staff are absent even during life-or-death situations. Earl White described chronic understaffing and little to no supervision as creating an environment “ripe for riots.” Multiple families told GPS that officers explicitly tell incarcerated people they will not intervene in fights or protect them from danger, and some allege that staff encourage physical altercations. GPS’s intelligence system recorded three staff-misconduct allegations in the first five months of 2026.

The vacuum has allowed sophisticated gang networks to assume functional control. GPS reporting documented that gang leaders at Washington State Prison operate with impunity, directing drug trafficking and orchestrating contraband deliveries via drones with alleged staff complicity. Federal indictments bear this out: Luis Alfonso Ramirez was charged in May 2026 with running a drug distribution conspiracy from the prison — an operation that seized 35 kilograms of methamphetamine and 3.5 kilograms of fentanyl — and Jeffery White led a meth network that distributed over 200 pounds of crystal meth in Florida. The GDC itself reported that 315 security threat groups and 15,200 validated gang members exist across the system, and the DOJ found that gangs effectively run multiple Georgia facilities.

Medical Neglect, Deaths After Release, and the Right to Care

Washington State Prison’s medical response has repeatedly failed incarcerated people. Silas Westbrook died after being treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital following the riot. Jamie Shahan was placed on life support after multiple gang attacks left him with severe brain injuries. During the January lockdown, inmate witnesses report that insulin distribution and medication passes were disrupted, and food service was suspended. GPS records of medical-neglect allegations at the facility span four months in 2026, with severity ratings ranging from high to moderate.

The prison’s own mortality list illustrates the broader toll: in the months surrounding the riot, Benjamin Horne (51), Taylor Howard (66), Wayne Krier (77), Darrin Gresham (60), and William Earl Long (52) all died of medical causes. The DOJ’s 2024 findings declared Georgia’s prison healthcare unconstitutional, a conclusion that applies with equal force to this facility.

Leadership, Litigation, and the $700 Million Question

Warden Veronica Stewart was promoted to lead Washington State Prison in June 2024 despite what GPS reporting described as a lack of advanced leadership qualifications. Deputy Warden Tamara Grier was appointed to the security post in November 2025, a few weeks before the riot. Neither appointment stemmed the violence. Meanwhile, Georgia lawmakers allocated more than $600 million in new corrections funding between 2022 and 2026. Yet, as GPS has shown, homicides rose from eight annually to over 100 in 2024, and the DOJ investigation continued. A federal judge in March 2026 denied a motion to dismiss in Buttrum v. Herring, ruling that Georgia’s juvenile-lifer parole process may violate the Eighth Amendment — highlighting the system’s broader failure to provide meaningful review. Mario Navarrete, an incarcerated individual at Washington State Prison, filed a pro se appeal in February 2025 as legal mail delays at the facility reportedly exceeded the maximum hold window under GDC policy.

Governor Kemp’s hand-picked consultants confirmed what GPS and the DOJ had already documented: broken locks, unmonitored areas, and officers too afraid to enforce rules. GPS’s investigation Separate the Gangs or Keep Burying the Dead argued that without gang separation, lockdowns merely postpone violence. At Washington State Prison — still locked down, still dangerous — that prediction holds.

Sources: This analysis draws on reporting from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 13WMAZ, WGXA, 11Alive, WTOC, 41NBC, WFXL, and The Marshall Project; Georgia Department of Public Health inspection records; federal court filings; GDC statements and data; Georgia Prisoners’ Speak investigative reporting and systemic analyses; GPS’s internal mortality database and intelligence tracking; and aggregated family and inmate accounts collected by GPS staff.