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Adams, Brian
Status: indicted
Profile written August 2, 2026
Salary
$17,870
2019 · state payroll
This profile reflects positional accountability — this individual held the leadership roles shown during the dates shown, during which the listed deaths or lawsuits occurred. Inclusion does not constitute a legal finding of personal culpability for any specific incident.
Tenure Summary
Brian Adams began his Georgia Department of Corrections career in 2015 as a corrections officer and rose through the ranks, serving as a lieutenant before his appointment as Warden of Smith State Prison in October 2019. GPS records show that 17 individuals died while Adams held the top leadership post at Smith State Prison, a tenure that lasted until his termination and arrest in February 2023. In May 2026, a Tattnall County grand jury indicted Adams on six felony counts, including violating Georgia’s RICO Act, making false statements, tampering with evidence, and violating his oath as a public officer. The indictment, along with multiple civil lawsuits and press accounts, alleges that Adams was part of a sprawling contraband and racketeering operation known as the Saint Laurent Squad, which prosecutors say fueled violence both inside and outside the prison’s walls.What happened on their watch
Adams served as Warden of Smith State Prison from October 1, 2019, until his dismissal on February 8, 2023. During those three‑plus years, GPS records attribute 17 deaths to the facility. The documented causes form a stark pattern: at least seven deaths were homicides — including stabbings, strangulations, and blunt‑force trauma — while at least five were suicides by hanging. Two deaths remain in a permanently unknown category after the GBI Division of Forensic Sciences declined to perform autopsies, stating an examination was “not necessary”; the official cause of death in those cases rests solely with the county coroner. Public reporting, particularly an Atlanta Journal‑Constitution investigation, identified individual decedents such as Nathan Michael Mahan (stab wounds, October 2022), Hiwatha Abdullah Hakeem (multiple stab wounds, April 2021), and Desmond Hill (strangulation, April 2021). The suicide cluster includes Juan Miguel Orduna (October 2022), Manuel Villagomez (September 2022), and Christopher Darnell Heath (December 2020). According to the AJC, Hill called his mother the day before his death to say his cellmate had threatened him, suggesting prison officials failed to act on a known threat. A civil lawsuit filed in Tattnall County State Court in May 2026 alleges that Adams, together with a subordinate officer, facilitated a criminal conspiracy that led to the killing of a correctional officer by allowing illegal mobile phones, narcotics, and weapons to circulate inside the facility. Multiple news investigations, citing state and court records, describe Smith State Prison during this time as severely understaffed — with roughly two‑thirds of correctional officer positions unfilled — and as the site of a long‑running contraband ring. Inmate Nathan Weekes was alleged to have orchestrated three murders from inside the prison, including the mistaken‑identity killing of 88‑year‑old Bobby Kicklighter, for which Adams and others were later indicted. A grand jury presentment further alleged that Adams provided false statements during an April 2022 interview when he denied having been solicited or bribed by an inmate in the previous ten years.Litigation
- Coast v. Adams, No. 6:25‑cv‑00049 (S.D. Ga., filed June 9, 2025) — pending.
- Daker v. Oliver, No. 1:24‑cv‑02687 (N.D. Ga., filed June 20, 2024) — pending.
- Hall v. Shepard, No. 5:23‑cv‑00205 (M.D. Ga., filed June 8, 2023, terminated June 11, 2024).
- Kicklighter v. Adams, No. 6:23‑cv‑00016 (S.D. Ga., filed March 6, 2023, terminated February 13, 2024).
Sources
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — multiple homicide and suicide reports during Adams’s tenure at Smith State Prison; investigative reporting on the contraband scheme and the Saint Laurent Squad RICO indictment.
- GBI Division of Forensic Sciences — autopsy and consultation records provided via Open Records Requests, including cases where no autopsy was performed.
- The Georgia Virtue — reports on the Tattnall County grand jury indictment, the Kicklighter civil suit, and allegations of a prison‑run criminal enterprise.
- The Marshall Project — reporting on systemic understaffing and a decomposing body unnoticed for five days.
- Georgia Public Broadcasting — coverage of contraband smuggling by drone and the murder of a food‑service worker.
- CourtListener — dockets for Coast v. Adams, Daker v. Oliver, Hall v. Shepard, and Kicklighter v. Adams.
- WTOC — reporting on a former employee charged with sexual assault and gang‑related altercations at Smith State Prison.
- In These Times — prisoner strike allegations of cruel and unusual punishment and inadequate medical care.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Warden | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2019-10-01 → 2023-02-08 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | 2017-01-01 → 2019-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL OFFICER 2 | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER(WL) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:25-cv-06233 | GAND | 2025-10-31 | pending |
| 6:25-cv-00049 | GASD | 2025-06-09 | pending |
| 1:24-cv-02687 | GAND | 2024-06-20 | pending |
| 5:23-cv-00205 | GAMD | 2023-06-08 | terminated |
| 6:23-cv-00016 | GASD | 2023-03-06 | terminated |
| 7:16-cv-00141 | GAMD | 2016-08-17 | terminated |
| 3:12-cv-00020 | GAMD | 2012-02-10 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
17 people died at facilities under Adams, Brian's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-10-25 | JUAN MIGUEL ORDUNA | 39 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2022-10-23 | NATHAN MICHAEL MAHAN | 37 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2022-09-16 | MANUEL VILLAGOMEZ | 24 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2022-05-28 | JEROME TISDOL | 67 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2022-05-14 | MICHAEL LEWIS TURNER | 38 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2021-09-27 | CHRISTOPHER M REDWINE | 45 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2021-07-01 | CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS | 38 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2021-06-25 | DERRICK DIONTE HARVEY | 26 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2021-04-12 | HIWATHA ABDULLAH HAKEEM | 26 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2021-04-09 | DESMOND HILL | 35 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2021-03-20 | MICHAEL LEE CANTY | 35 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2021-01-05 | JUSTIN WILKERSON | 25 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2020-12-11 | CHRISTOPHER DARNELL HEATH | 43 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2020-08-17 | RODERICK A GOLDEN | 51 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2020-04-20 | JOHN BRENTLY REYES | 24 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2020-04-10 | TAYLOR HARRISON BROOKS | 26 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2020-02-12 | JOSEPH FRANKLIN NORRIS | 55 | SMITH STATE PRISON | Warden |
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