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Copeland, Tanja
Status: active
Profile written August 30, 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
Tanja Copeland appears in GPS records as a deputy warden–tier leader at Autry State Prison. Her listed roles begin as Deputy Warden of Administration on June 16, 2024; a calendar-year 2025 record lists her as Deputy Warden, and a separate Deputy Warden entry is dated Aug. 27, 2026. GPS records attribute seven deaths to her facility-leader tenures, all at Autry State Prison. The records contain no lawsuits naming Copeland as a defendant and no intel reports attached directly to her. The seven death entries span Dec. 22, 2024, to April 23, 2026, with decedents aged 56 to 86; all are coded under cause category 6, though the extract supplies no narrative cause.What happened on their watch
Autry State Prison
Copeland’s earliest listed posting is Deputy Warden of Administration at Autry State Prison, starting June 16, 2024. The first death attributed during that period is Alerick Campbell, 56, on Dec. 22, 2024. In 2025, GPS records list her as Deputy Warden; five deaths are attributed that year: Harvey Jack Woodard, 69, on May 8; Alton Anson Kelly, 61, and James Melvin Tudor, 86, both on Aug. 23; Richard Merritt, 75, on Oct. 20; and Chaudhry Abudl Rashid, 74, on Nov. 11. A later death record, for Richard Cleveland Castleberry, 72, is dated April 23, 2026, and lists Copeland’s role at time as Deputy Warden. The seven Autry State Prison death records match the total of seven deaths attributed to her facility-level tenures.The GPS intel log for Autry State Prison includes repeated references to Legionella contamination in the water system, an inmate testing positive for Legionnaires’ disease in 2021, and a June 2023 facility closure for plumbing and HVAC repairs. Those events predate Copeland’s listed start at the prison. The same intel log contains state liability settlements tied to Autry State Prison from 2016 through 2020; none overlaps her listed tenure. No news mentions for Copeland appear in the structured record.
Sources
- GPS records — personnel and death attribution data for Tanja Copeland, including the seven Autry State Prison death entries and role history.
- GPS intel event log — Autry State Prison Legionella contamination entries and pre-tenure facility settlement references.
- Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) — Autry State Prison payouts dated 2016–2020, all pre-tenure.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden | AUTRY STATE PRISON | 2026-08-27 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | AUTRY STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| Deputy Warden of Administration | AUTRY STATE PRISON | 2024-06-16 → present |
Deaths attributed during tenure
7 people died at facilities under Copeland, Tanja's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-23 | RICHARD CLEVELAND CASTLEBERRY | 72 | AUTRY STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-11-11 | CHAUDHRY ABUDL RASHID | 74 | AUTRY STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-10-20 | RICHARD MERRITT | 75 | AUTRY STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-08-23 | ALTON ANSON KELLY | 61 | AUTRY STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-08-23 | JAMES MELVIN TUDOR | 86 | AUTRY STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2025-05-08 | HARVEY JACK WOODARD | 69 | AUTRY STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2024-12-22 | ALERICK CAMPBELL | 56 | AUTRY STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Administration |
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