Blackshear, Janice Denise

Tenure Summary

Janice Denise Blackshear's career in Georgia Department of Corrections records runs from a 2007 correctional officer posting at Macon State Prison through lieutenant tours at Central State Prison (2014) and Burruss Correctional Training Center (2015), a 2018 Chief of Security post at McEver Probation Detention Center, and repeated Unit Manager assignments at Central State Prison (2019, 2024, and January 1–May 15, 2025). On January 1, 2025 she is also listed as Deputy Warden at Central State, and on May 16, 2025 she moved into the Deputy Warden of Security position there — the role she held, per GDC records, while every death attributed to her leadership occurred. A further Deputy Warden entry at Central State is dated August 27, 2026.

GPS's death registry attributes 11 deaths to her leadership tenure, all of them at Central State Prison. No lawsuit naming Blackshear as a defendant appears in the records reviewed. Her recorded status is active.

What happened on their watch

Chief of Security, McEver Probation Detention Center (2018). Records show the specialty security post and its dates; no deaths are attributed to this tenure.

Unit Manager, Central State Prison (2019; 2024; January 1–May 15, 2025). Records list the unit-supervisor role and dates, including a 2024 salary of $61,207.19.

Deputy Warden, Central State Prison (January 1–May 15, 2025; listed again August 27, 2026). Records list the deputy-tier post, with a 2025 salary of $66,478.77, and its dates.

Deputy Warden of Security, Central State Prison (from May 16, 2025). This is the posting under which the registry's 11 Central State Prison deaths fall, spanning July 16, 2025 to July 20, 2026:

• Ricky D Ring died July 16, 2025, at Central State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 56.
• James Theodore Miller died September 22, 2025, at Central State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 64.
• Joseph Hamm died October 8, 2025, at Central State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Overdose, age 36.
• Ronald Goss died October 23, 2025, at Central State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 60.
• Miguel Angel Duran died March 1, 2026, at Central State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 44.
• Michael Lane Brooks died April 19, 2026, at Central State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 77.
• Richard Palmer died June 2, 2026, at Central State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 57.
• Raemonte Gentale Harris died July 3, 2026, at Central State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 39.
• Mickey Barrett died July 11, 2026, at Central State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 64.
• Demetris Raynard Keller died July 17, 2026, at Central State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 38.
• Steve Allen Burk died July 20, 2026, at Central State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 38.

Seven of the 11 causes remain Unknown/Pending in the registry; the remaining four are recorded as one homicide, one suicide, one overdose and one natural/medical death.

Reports logged against Central State during this tenure describe further disruption. A family member or witness alleged that in 2026 an incarcerated person showing stroke symptoms was denied timely medical attention before transport to a hospital (GPS case submission, April 13, 2026). Social-media and Telegram-derived submissions in May 2026 described multiple stabbings, a concurrent medical emergency with multiple ambulances responding, and six people hospitalized during a statewide lockdown; one submission described skeleton-crew staffing linked to delays in serving meals. A June 2, 2026 submission described a death after which video of the body circulated on social media and a tactical response team was seen in the housing unit for hours; a July 9, 2026 submission described two stabbings during a lockdown, with the source blaming officers for heightened tension; a July 11, 2026 submission described a death initially reported as a heart attack.

13WMAZ reporting compiled in the records also covers a January 2026 inmate fight that hospitalized one person, three former guards accused of beating an inmate and attempting a cover-up in March 2025, three inmates charged with stabbing another inmate in June 2025, and a guard charged with falsely imprisoning four DFCS employees over child support in December 2025. In October 2026, per the Bibb County Sheriff's Office inmate search, an accounting technician listed on GDC's August 2026 roster was arrested on warrants alleging sexual contact with an inmate and trading with inmates; a correctional officer was booked on charges of aggravated battery, false statements, and violation of oath by a public officer. Both were charged, not convicted.

Sources

• GPS death registry — 11 deaths at Central State Prison during the Deputy Warden of Security tenure
• GPS case submissions (IDs 138, 193, 204, 208, 213, 241, 315, 325) — medical-delay, stabbing, hospitalization and death reports
• 13WMAZ — reporting on the January 2026 fight, guard misconduct allegations, and the Zacarra Oliver warrants
• Bibb County Sheriff's Office inmate search — October 2026 arrests of Central State Prison staff

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Oct 25, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.