Cliett, Asia Deon

Tenure Summary

Asia Deon Cliett began with the Georgia Department of Corrections as a correctional officer in 2015 and rose steadily through the ranks to sergeant, lieutenant, unit manager, and, as of October 2024, Assistant Superintendent at Augusta Transitional Center. The bulk of Cliett's supervisory career was spent at Washington State Prison, where she held unit-supervisor-tier roles from 2018 through late 2024, with a one-year posting at Johnson State Prison in 2021. GPS records show 29 deaths occurred at facilities where Cliett held a unit-supervisor or higher role during her tenure — 14 at Washington State Prison during her time as Correctional Unit Manager (2022–2023), 14 at Johnson State Prison during her tenure as Correctional Lieutenant (2021), and one at Washington State Prison during her earlier Lieutenant posting (2020). Two of those deaths — Marquis Reshawn Jefferson and Michael Lee Jackson at Washington State Prison — are documented by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as homicides. One death at Johnson State Prison — David Lamar Henegar — resulted in a $4 million state settlement, per GPS records.

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What Happened on Their Watch

Washington State Prison — Correctional Lieutenant (2020)

Cliett held the rank of Correctional Lieutenant at Washington State Prison through calendar year 2020. GPS records show one death during this posting: Latavious Lanier Kirkland, age 31, on December 21, 2020 (cause category 6; no additional notes in the record).

Johnson State Prison — Correctional Lieutenant (2021)

Cliett served as Correctional Lieutenant at Johnson State Prison throughout 2021. GPS records attribute 14 deaths to the facility during this posting. Thirteen carry cause category 6 with no additional notes. One — David Lamar Henegar, age 44, who died October 16, 2021 — is documented by the AJC as a homicide; the death certificate lists manual strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head as the cause. A lawsuit filed on behalf of Henegar's estate alleged that prison staff ignored Henegar's screams and the pleas of neighboring prisoners during a five-hour beating by his cellmate, Antone Hinton-Leonard; that staff had received prior reports of Hinton-Leonard's mental health problems and a choking incident one week before the fatal attack; that Henegar had a disability; and that prison officials held Henegar past his scheduled release date due to an administrative delay, according to the AJC. The state settled that lawsuit for $4 million on April 11, 2026, per GPS records. A separate GPS tip (source unspecified) reported ongoing unsanitary food tray conditions at Johnson State Prison during this general period.

Washington State Prison — Correctional Unit Manager (2022–2023)

Cliett returned to Washington State Prison as Correctional Unit Manager beginning in 2022, a role she held through at least late 2024. GPS records attribute 14 deaths to the facility during the 2022–2023 calendar years of this posting. Two are documented as homicides by the AJC: Marquis Reshawn Jefferson, age 26, died May 11, 2022, from stab wounds to the torso and arm; Michael Lee Jackson, age 60, died August 17, 2022, from multiple blunt force injuries in the setting of hypertensive cardiovascular disease. The remaining 12 deaths carry cause category 6 with no additional notes in GPS records. Ages of the deceased ranged from 25 to 72.

The facility's broader conditions during this period are the subject of multiple allegations. Former inmates, identified by 13WMAZ as Earl White and Brandon, alleged overcrowded dorms, chronic staffing shortages, non-functional cell-door locks that allowed free movement, gang dominance, daily weapon use, and the absence of educational or vocational programming. A U.S. Department of Justice report — cited by the AJC and 41NBC — found in 2024 that Georgia prison officials were "deliberately indifferent" to unchecked deadly violence, widespread drug use, extortion, and sexual abuse at state lockups, and that sophisticated gangs ran prison black markets trafficking in drugs, weapons, and electronic devices. State Rep. Billy Hitchens, per 41NBC, alleged the prison system was not making meaningful progress on preventing inmates from disabling cell-door locks. An anonymous family member reported to GPS that Washington State Prison had been on continuous lockdown for approximately 50 days following riots.

The most acute incident at Washington State Prison occurred on January 11–12, 2026 — after Cliett had transitioned to Augusta Transitional Center — when a gang-affiliated riot killed at least four inmates (Ahmod Hatcher, 23; Jimmy Trammell, 42; Teddy Jackson, 27; and a fourth person) and injured 13 others, with a fifth death reported on January 17, 2026. Twelve inmates were subsequently charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, gang participation, and unlawful acts of violence, per GDC and court records. The AJC reported that buildings with maintenance issues enabled prisoners to strip materials to make weapons and that understaffing left movements unmonitored.

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Litigation

• Henegar estate v. GDC — Lawsuit alleging staff failure to intervene during a five-hour fatal beating of David Lamar Henegar at Johnson State Prison on October 16, 2021; allegations included improper housing with a mentally ill cellmate who had previously attacked Henegar and administrative over-detention past scheduled release. Settled April 11, 2026, for $4,000,000, per GPS records. (Cliett is not named as an individual defendant in GPS records; the settlement is attributed to the state.)

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Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — AJC Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation; reporting on Henegar settlement (April 2026); reporting on Washington State Prison riot and January 2026 charges
• 11Alive — Washington State Prison gang-affiliated disturbance reporting
• 13WMAZ — Washington State Prison riot reporting; former inmate accounts; inmate charges
• 41NBC — DOJ findings on Georgia prisons; Washington State Prison disturbance updates
• WGXA — Washington State Prison disturbance; Trammell family statement
• WFXL — Inmate charges in Washington State Prison disturbance
• GPS records — Death records, position/salary data, intel tips on Johnson State Prison and Washington State Prison conditions
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 investigation findings on Georgia prison conditions (as cited by AJC and 41NBC)

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.