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Bracewell, Sheila
Status: active
Profile written August 2, 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 entered the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2015 as a correctional administrator before being appointed Deputy Warden at Whitworth Women’s Facility, a role she has held continuously from 2016 through the present. GPS records attribute one death to the facility during her deputy‑warden tenure, which now spans nine years. No lawsuits have been filed naming Bracewell as a defendant, and no intel reports or news mentions flag additional incidents on her watch.What happened on their watch
Whitworth Women’s Facility (Deputy Warden, 2016‑2025)
On January 10, 2025, while Bracewell was deputy warden, Rhianna Woods died. The GDC’s own January 2025 mortality report lists the cause as “Acute Respiratory Failure/ Possible Drug Overdose.” The DeKalb County Medical Examiner (case 25‑0059) determined the manner to be accident and the cause acute benzodiazepine intoxication. A facility discrepancy exists in the records: the medical examiner placed Woods at the Metro Reentry Facility in DeKalb County, while GPS facility‑of‑record remains Whitworth. GPS analysis suggests GDC sometimes executes an administrative transfer of an inmate to Metro Reentry when the person is near death or requires an Atlanta‑area hospital, even if the inmate never physically arrives there. Woods experienced seizures on the evening of January 8 after reportedly swallowing “something”; hospital admission bloodwork confirmed benzodiazepine and she died two days later in respiratory failure. The death is the sole fatality attributed to the facility during Bracewell’s deputy‑warden tenure.Sources
- GDC January 2025 mortality report — cause of death listed as “Acute Respiratory Failure/ Possible Drug Overdose” for Woods
- DeKalb County Medical Examiner (case 25‑0059) — manner (accident) and cause (acute benzodiazepine intoxication)
- GPS personnel and facility records — positions, tenure dates, and death attribution for Bracewell; administrative hypothesis on Metro Reentry transfers
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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