Bryant, Delisha L

Tenure Summary

Delisha L. Bryant began her GDC career as a correctional officer at Autry State Prison in 2007, then spent six years (2019–2024) as a CSM Correctional Unit Manager at an unspecified facility before ascending to the deputy warden tier at Valdosta State Prison — first as Deputy Warden beginning January 2025, then as Deputy Warden of Security from March 16, 2025, onward. GPS records show 19 deaths attributed to Valdosta State Prison during Bryant's combined deputy warden tenure, spanning January 2025 through at least April 2026. The deaths include at least five classified as homicides, one suicide, and multiple categorized as other or undetermined causes. Bryant is not named as a defendant in any lawsuit in GPS records, but the facility she helps oversee has been the subject of a notice of intent to sue, federal court sanctions against GDC, and sustained investigative coverage documenting extreme staffing vacancies and officer corruption.

What Happened on Their Watch

Valdosta State Prison — Deputy Warden / Deputy Warden of Security (January 2025–present)

Bryant joined Valdosta State Prison's leadership as it was already under documented strain. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the facility was operating with approximately 80% of its correctional officer positions vacant as of early 2025, a condition the AJC described as making it "virtually impossible to supervise the inmate population." That context frames the deaths that followed. GPS records show 19 deaths at Valdosta during Bryant's tenure. Confirmed homicides include: Sinjuan Harmon (January 12, 2025), killed by strangulation per WALB; Brandon McGee (April 2, 2025), whose body was sent to the GBI Crime Lab per WALB; William Stacey Springer (September 16, 2025), 36, stabbed in the face and head — inmates alleged to WALB that jailers did not respond for hours, and Springer's family alleged GDC failed to contact them after the attack; Sergio Hernandez (February 26, 2026), 39; and Kyle Samuel Burke (April 19, 2026), killed by his cellmate — a Telegram relay source, AI-classified, alleges officers were aware of ongoing conflict between the two since the preceding Friday but failed to separate them. Two additional deaths raise delayed-discovery concerns: Jevion Andrez Benham, 21, was found dead on December 24, 2025, with the Lowndes County Coroner ruling the cause strangulation and the manner homicide; per GPS research citing WALB and HCRC, Benham's estimated time of death was approximately December 22 — roughly two days before discovery. Coroner Austin Fiveash issued a public statement: "It seems unfathomable that a prison can miss someone for two days." Robert Jordan Watkins, 38, was found dead on the J1 tier on March 18–19, 2026; multiple Telegram relay sources allege the body may have been deceased for approximately two days before discovery. One death was recorded as a suicide: Anthony Vashern Prothro, 34 (April 7, 2025). Ronnie Jackson, 62, died February 15, 2026, after reportedly suffering a seizure, falling from a bunk, and striking his head. The remaining deaths — including Chet Elliott Kent, 45 (March 16, 2025, noted as dying "in the hole"); Eric Lee Schermerhorn, 40 (March 4, 2025); Robert Louis Johnson, 60 (March 8, 2026); Dequontist Marquez Lucas, 41 (December 25, 2025); Jessie James Kilgore, 56 (December 23, 2025); Arthur Nekita Burks, 61 (November 28, 2025); Paul Hampton, 66 (October 12, 2025); Garrett Paul Schmidt, 40 (September 21, 2025); and Jason Frank Jordan, 45 (June 1, 2025) — are categorized as other or undetermined causes in GPS records, with no additional detail available.

The facility's broader institutional environment during Bryant's tenure has been documented extensively. According to the AJC, seven correctional officers were arrested in Operation Skyhawk (announced March 2024, with additional arrests extending into Bryant's tenure period) for allegedly participating in a contraband scheme run by inmate Kydetrius Thomas, including drug-soaked paper, pills, and tobacco smuggled with officer assistance. The AJC further reported that a federal judge — Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Gardner — sanctioned GDC on March 30, 2026, for destroying video evidence of the fatal stabbing of Hakeem Olajuwon Williams (a pre-Bryant death) in bad faith, and separately sanctioned officer Angela Butler for lying under oath. The Griffith family filed a notice of intent to sue the state in January 2025, alleging that Shane Griffith (killed May 2024, before Bryant's tenure) was beaten, burned, dragged by a rope, and killed by 11 inmates while staff failed to intervene. On April 2, 2026, gang-related fights at Valdosta and three other prisons sent inmates to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, per GPS records.

Litigation

• Griffith family notice of intent to sue — filed January 2025, against the state; alleges Shane Griffith was beaten, burned, dragged, and killed by 11 inmates while staff failed to intervene at Valdosta State Prison; per the AJC, no formal lawsuit disposition is recorded in GPS data at this time. Bryant is not named individually.
• Mackrell v. Butler / GDC (Hakeem Olajuwon Williams) — federal court; Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Gardner sanctioned GDC on March 30, 2026, for destroying video evidence in bad faith and sanctioned officer Angela Butler for lying under oath; per the AJC, the jury will be informed of both acts and GDC will bear liability for any verdict against Butler. Bryant is not named individually.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — multiple investigative reports on Valdosta State Prison homicides, staffing vacancies, Operation Skyhawk officer arrests, evidence destruction sanctions, and the Shane Griffith and Melvin Towns deaths
• WALB — reports on Brandon McGee death (April 2025), William Springer stabbing (September 2025), Sinjuan Harmon killing (January 2025), and Jevion Benham homicide (December 2025)
• WTXL — report citing Valdosta coroner's statement following Ryan Cornelius Rumph's death
• Lowndes County Coroner (Austin Fiveash) — public statement regarding Jevion Benham's death, sourced via Telegram relay group and HCRC, as cited in GPS records
• GPS records / Telegram relay group (AI-classified) — deaths of Kyle Samuel Burke (April 2026) and Robert Jordan Watkins (March 2026)
• GPS internal records — positions table, death records, and intel event log for Valdosta State Prison and Autry State Prison

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 6, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.