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Copeland, Tanja
Status: active
Profile written July 12, 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’s leadership footprint at the Georgia Department of Corrections is tied to Autry State Prison. She entered the facility as Deputy Warden of Administration on June 16, 2024, and later served as a Deputy Warden, a role she still held at least through April 2026. GPS records attribute a total of seven deaths to her tenure as a facility deputy warden there — all of them older men whose listed cause falls into category 6. Court records show no lawsuits naming Copeland as a defendant.What happened on their watch
Copeland’s entire documented leadership tenure unfolded at Autry State Prison, a medium-security compound in Pelham that had already weathered a serious infrastructure crisis. In June 2023, the facility was shut down after Legionella bacteria were found in the water system and an inmate was diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease; the entire population was relocated while the state carried out plumbing and HVAC repairs. When Copeland arrived a year later, the prison had reopened, but its history of environmental hazards lingered as context.The seven deaths GPS attributes to her time as a deputy warden all carry cause category 6, a code that typically corresponds to natural causes, advanced illness, or age-related decline. The first decedent, 56-year-old Alerick Campbell, died on December 22, 2024, when Copeland held the title of Deputy Warden of Administration. Five deaths followed in 2025: Harvey Jack Woodard, 69, on May 8; Alton Anson Kelly, 61, and James Melvin Tudor, 86, both on August 23; Richard Merritt, 75, on October 20; and Chaudhry Abudl Rashid, 74, on November 11. The seventh death occurred on April 23, 2026, when 72-year-old Richard Cleveland Castleberry died; by then Copeland was recorded as a Deputy Warden. None of these deaths have been publicly linked to the earlier Legionella outbreak, and no lawsuits against Copeland have surfaced in connection with any of them.
A separate intelligence event from January 11, 2026, describes gang violence erupting at the facility — the title mentions “Washington State Prison” but the record’s facility ID ties it to Autry. No deaths are attached to that incident in the material reviewed.
Sources
- Georgia Prisoners’ Speak records — personnel timeline, death attribution, and cause-category data for Tanja Copeland’s tenure at Autry State Prison.
- GPS intel events — multiple entries documenting the Legionella contamination and 2023 closure of Autry State Prison; 2026 gang violence incident.
- GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger — documents several pre-tenure liability payouts associated with Autry State Prison (e.g., Susan Brown, 2020; Christopher L. Jones, 2018) but none naming Copeland.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| 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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