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Bracewell, Sheila
Status: active
Profile written June 14, 2026
Salary
$72,090
2025 · 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
Sheila Bracewell began work with the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2015 in a Correction Administration role. Since 2016, she has served continuously as Deputy Warden of Whitworth Women’s Facility, a post she still held at the most recent record update in 2025. GPS records attribute one death to the facility during Bracewell’s leadership tenure there — a total of one death across all years of her facility-level accountability. No lawsuits naming Bracewell as a defendant, and no intel reports or news stories mentioning her, are present in the GPS database.What happened on their watch
Deputy Warden, Whitworth Women’s Facility (2016–present)
On January 10, 2025, Rhianna Woods died while under GDC custody. According to GPS records, the death is attributed to Whitworth Women’s Facility, where Bracewell was serving as Deputy Warden. The death certificate lists acute drug (benzodiazepine) intoxication as the cause, and the manner is ruled an accident. Medical examiner records from DeKalb County (case 25‑0059) indicate that Woods had ingested a substance the evening of January 8, 2025, suffered seizures, and later tested positive for benzodiazepines, leading to respiratory failure. The DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s investigation places the location where Woods consumed the substance at the Metro Reentry Facility in Atlanta, and the death was handled under DeKalb County jurisdiction. However, the GDC facility of record in the GPS database is Whitworth Women’s Facility, not Metro. An administrative note attached to the record acknowledges the discrepancy and hypothesizes that GDC may perform a “technical” administrative transfer to Metro when an inmate is near death or sent to an Atlanta-area hospital, even if the inmate never physically enters that facility. This explanation remains an internal, unverified observation and does not alter the GPS death attribution to Whitworth. No other deaths are documented at the facility during Bracewell’s tenure. No lawsuits, intel events, or news mentions were filed in connection with this incident or any other matter during her time as deputy warden.Sources
- Georgia Prisoners’ Speak records — personnel file, facility death attribution, and death-record detail for Rhianna Woods (including the cross‑reference to DeKalb County Medical Examiner case 25‑0059, entered via ORR intake, with administrative note on the Metro Reentry discrepancy).
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| DEPUTY WARDEN | WHITWORTH WOMEN’S FACILITY | 2016-01-01 → present |
| CORRECTION ADMINISTRATION | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
1 people died at facilities under Bracewell, Sheila's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-01-10 | Rhianna Woods | — | WHITWORTH WOMEN’S FACILITY | DEPUTY WARDEN |
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