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Carter, Samantha Denise
Status: active
Profile written June 28, 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
Samantha Denise Carter began working for the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2003, holding administrative support and financial management roles at Hancock State Prison, Washington State Prison, and other facilities for more than two decades. On January 16, 2026, she assumed her first leadership‑tier position, Deputy Warden of Administration at Augusta State Medical Prison. GPS records attribute 23 in‑custody deaths to Carter’s leadership tenure, all at Augusta. Two of those deaths have been classified as homicides, while the majority remain under investigation. The facility where she now serves had already come under national scrutiny following a 2024 U.S. Department of Justice investigation that documented systemic violence, sexual assaults, and a “culture of indifference” inside Georgia’s prisons—conditions that continued to produce fatalities on her watch.What happened on their watch
Carter’s only facility‑leader tenure—as Deputy Warden of Administration at Augusta State Medical Prison beginning January 16, 2026—has recorded 23 deaths, per GPS records. The first occurred four days after she started: Jerry Wayne Merritt, 59, was stabbed to death on January 20, 2026. GPS source notes describe Merritt being killed by a fellow incarcerated person over a $15 commissary debt, and the incident is classified as a homicide (cause category 3). A second homicide followed on May 22, 2026, when 23‑year‑old Jacobi Alandis Chomicki was killed in the prison’s D2 unit; a GPS witness report described one person hospitalized and one dead. The remaining deaths—including Frederick Raskin (84), Henry Ross (56), and Manuel Gomez (age unknown)—were logged under cause category 6, meaning the cause remains undetermined or is still under investigation. One death, that of 86‑year‑old Sidney Dorsey on March 2, 2026, was attributed to natural causes.The deaths unfolded at a prison already the subject of repeated findings of systemic failure. According to the Atlanta Journal‑Constitution, a 2024 DOJ investigation found that Augusta State Medical Prison, like many Georgia facilities, suffered from rampant violence, sexual assaults, and gang domination driven by a “deliberately indifferent” culture. The AJC highlighted specific Augusta cases that predate Carter’s tenure: Eddie Gosier was murdered after officers placed a violent prisoner in his cell; Thomas Henry Giles died of smoke inhalation while incarcerated individuals were left locked in a burning cell; Rodarick Lee Hayes was attacked multiple times before his death, prompting a DOJ finding of failure to protect; and Jimmy Lucero was left in solitary without medical checks and starved. Although those deaths occurred earlier, the conditions they reflect persisted, as demonstrated by the two homicides and the high mortality rate under Carter’s administration. During this same period, a federal judge held a contempt hearing against the GDC Commissioner for defying court orders on inmate communications—a signal of institutional non‑compliance that affected the very facility where Carter serves as deputy warden. No lawsuits name Carter as a defendant.
Sources
- GPS records: facility‑leader death counts and source accounts for Jerry Wayne Merritt and Jacobi Alandis Chomicki
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution: “Ga prison homicides: A list of those killed in Georgia’s prison system” (2026‑05‑06), detailing incidents at Augusta State Medical Prison and DOJ findings
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution: “Prison system failures cost Georgia taxpayers millions” (2026‑05‑05), covering cases including Thomas Henry Giles and Jimmy Lucero
- U.S. Department of Justice, 2024 investigation finding deliberate indifference to violence and sexual abuse in Georgia prisons
- Federal court records, Benning v. Oliver contempt proceedings (2026) for GDC non‑compliance with court orders
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden of Administration | AUGUSTA STATE MEDICAL PRISON | 2026-01-16 → present |
| ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN 3 | 2024-01-01 → present | |
| FINANCIAL OPS GENERALIST 2 | HANCOCK STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31 |
| Accounting Technician II | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 | |
| Financial Operational Generalist | AUGUSTA STATE MEDICAL PRISON | 2019-01-01 → 2019-12-31 |
| Administrative Support | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | 2012-01-01 → 2012-12-31 |
| Administrative Support | HANCOCK STATE PRISON | 2003-01-01 → 2003-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
23 people died at facilities under Carter, Samantha Denise's leadership.
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