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Beasley, Jacob
Status: active
Profile written September 6, 2026
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
Jacob Beasley rose through the Georgia Department of Corrections custody ranks: correctional officer at Rogers State Prison in 2007, sergeant at Rogers in 2009, lieutenant at Telfair State Prison in 2012, unit manager at Telfair in 2014, a correctional administration post in 2015, CSM sergeant at Telfair in 2016, and CSM lieutenant at Valdosta State Prison in 2017. His facility-deputy and warden postings began with deputy warden at Hays State Prison in 2018, followed by deputy warden at Telfair State Prison from 2019 through 2021, deputy warden at Valdosta State Prison in 2022, warden at Smith State Prison in 2023 and 2024, and warden at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison from 2025 to the present.
GPS records attribute 42 deaths during Beasley’s facility-deputy and warden tenures: 15 at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison, 14 at Telfair State Prison, 7 at Valdosta State Prison, and 6 at Smith State Prison. He is named as a defendant or co-defendant in several federal suits, including pending actions Grier v. Jacob Beasley, Hamilton v. Beasley, and Miller v. Holt.
What happened on their watch
Telfair State Prison — Deputy Warden, 2019–2021
GPS records attribute 14 deaths at Telfair during Beasley’s deputy-warden tenure. The sampled records include multiple 2020 homicides: Aldrich Cain, 26, whose Telfair County coroner certificate lists multiple stab wounds and manner of death as homicide; Cedric Johnson, 35, whose death is listed as strangulation, homicide, per the coroner; Luis Garcia-Palacio, 41, listed by the AJC investigation as blunt impact injuries to the head; and Marcus Pearson, 28, multiple stab wounds per the AJC. In 2021, Juan Carlos Arguello-Revelles, 37, is listed in the AJC homicide investigation as a stabbing. William Lumpkin, 74, is recorded by GPS as medical neglect based on witness accounts that chest-pain complaints were ignored, although a Telfair County coroner certificate lists natural causes — sepsis and acute pancreatitis. Several other 2020 deaths were coded as natural in GDC data obtained through the UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project.Valdosta State Prison — Deputy Warden, 2022
GPS records attribute seven deaths at Valdosta during Beasley’s 2022 deputy-warden year. The sample includes Hakeem Olajuwon Williams, 27, listed by the AJC as a stab wound to the chest, and Dexter Jarrod Burnett, 35, stab wound to the torso. The Williams death later produced federal-court fallout: in 2026, according to GPS records, a federal judge sanctioned GDC for failing to preserve video of the stabbing and sanctioned an officer for dishonesty, with the jury to be told of both.Smith State Prison — Warden, 2023–2024
GPS records attribute six deaths at Smith State Prison during Beasley’s warden tenure. The sample includes Donquerius LaMonte Mahone, 37, classified by the AJC investigation as a homicide, and Richard Jermine Williams, 43, whose GBI medical-examiner production, after a GPS record correction, lists the cause as toxic effects of MDMB-4en-PINACA and the manner as accident. Other sampled Smith deaths — Gineli Gray, Jaydrekus Hart, Orlando Jordan, and Calvin Craft — are recorded with unknown or pending cause categories. Separate public reporting about Smith State Prison in this period centered on racketeering and contraband allegations against former warden Brian Adams and others, not Beasley.Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison — Warden, 2025–present
GPS records attribute 15 deaths at GDCP during Beasley’s tenure. The sample includes Mark Rutledge, 72, whose June 2026 death prompted a GDC Office of Professional Standards investigation; a user report says Rutledge was beaten at GDCP on Father’s Day, while GPS has not confirmed a cause. Christopher Lee, 19, was found dead in H-house after reportedly being placed in a stripped cell; a GBI medical examiner later certified the cause as probable cardiac dysrhythmia and the manner as natural, while prisoner accounts described staff attributing the death to cold or exposure. Other sampled GDCP deaths carry unknown or pending classifications. During this tenure, GPS also records a January 2026 capacity report stating GDCP held about 4,540 incarcerated people, roughly 568% of its original design capacity of 800.Litigation
- Jackson v. Beasley, 4:23-cv-00198 (M.D. Ga.), filed Dec. 8, 2023, terminated Jan. 8, 2024.
- Grier v. Jacob Beasley, 1:25-cv-00074 (N.D. Ga.), filed Jan. 7, 2025, pending.
- Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, 1:25-cv-03191 (N.D. Ga.), filed June 6, 2025, terminated Mar. 30, 2026.
- Hamilton v. Beasley, 6:25-cv-00057 (S.D. Ga.), filed July 22, 2025, pending.
- Miller v. Holt, 5:25-cv-00356 (M.D. Ga.), filed Aug. 25, 2025, pending.
- Humphreys v. Oliver, 1:25-cv-06100 (N.D. Ga.), filed Oct. 24, 2025, terminated Dec. 10, 2025.
- Humphreys v. Oliver, 1:25-cv-07012 (N.D. Ga.), filed Dec. 9, 2025, terminated Jan. 15, 2026.
- Pak v. Sprayberry, 4:21-cv-00113 (N.D. Ga.), filed June 15, 2021, terminated Mar. 4, 2022.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation; contraband, staffing, and prison-violence reporting.
- The Georgia Virtue — Smith State Prison warden indictment and related legal coverage.
- 13WMAZ — Telfair State Prison settlement reporting.
- WTOC — Valdosta State Prison death and discovery-delay reporting.
- WRDW — Valdosta State Prison flooded-cell incident reporting.
- Yahoo.com — Valdosta State Prison drug-trafficking indictment reporting.
- In These Times — Georgia prison strike reporting.
- Telfair County Coroner certificates, via GPS open records.
- GBI Medical Examiner reports, via GPS records.
- CourtListener docket entries for the listed federal cases.
- GPS records — mortality data, personnel postings, and incident logs.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Warden 3 | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2026-08-27 → present |
| Warden | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2025-07-16 → present |
| WARDEN 3 | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| WARDEN 3 | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2024-12-31 |
| Warden 3 | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2023-11-22 → 2023-11-22 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → 2021-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | HAYS STATE PRISON | 2018-01-01 → 2018-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL SERGEANT | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 |
| CORRECTION ADMINISTRATION | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 | |
| Unit Manager | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2014-01-01 → 2014-12-31 |
| Lieutenant | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2012-01-01 → 2012-12-31 |
| Sergeant | ROGERS STATE PRISON | 2009-01-01 → 2009-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | ROGERS STATE PRISON | 2007-01-01 → 2007-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:25-cv-07012 | GAND | 2025-12-09 | terminated |
| 1:25-cv-06100 | GAND | 2025-10-24 | terminated |
| 5:25-cv-00356 | GAMD | 2025-08-25 | pending |
| 6:25-cv-00057 | GASD | 2025-07-22 | pending |
| 1:25-cv-03191 | GAND | 2025-06-06 | terminated |
| 1:25-cv-00074 | GAND | 2025-01-07 | pending |
| 4:23-cv-00198 | GAMD | 2023-12-08 | terminated |
| 4:21-cv-00113 | GAND | 2021-06-15 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
42 people died at facilities under Beasley, Jacob's leadership.
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