Home › Intelligence › Personnel Accountability › COX, Eric
COX, Eric
Status: active
Profile written August 2, 2026
Salary
$74,838
2025 · state payroll
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
Eric Cox rose through the Georgia Department of Corrections ranks from correctional officer to warden over nearly two decades. His career included staff roles at Smith State Prison (2008, 2015) before advancing to lieutenant (2016–2018) and then captain and unit manager again at Smith (2019–2020). In 2021 he became Deputy Warden at Smith, then moved to the same position at Ware State Prison from 2022 through 2024. After a short stint as Deputy Warden of the Special Management Unit in early 2025, Cox served as Warden of Dodge State Prison (mid‑2025 to early 2026) and was subsequently appointed Warden of the Special Management Unit, a posting he still held as of mid‑2026. GPS records attribute 51 deaths to the facilities where he held facility‑deputy or facility‑lead authority: 43 at Ware State Prison, 7 at Smith State Prison, and 1 at the Special Management Unit. Cox is a defendant in four federal lawsuits—three pending, one terminated—linked to his tenures.What happened on their watch
Smith State Prison (Deputy Warden, 2021)
During Cox’s year as Deputy Warden, seven incarcerated men died at Smith State Prison. Six were homicides: Christopher Redwine (asphyxia by manual strangulation), Christopher Reynolds (blunt and sharp force injuries to head and neck), Derrick Harvey (stab wound to chest), Hiwatha Hakeem (multiple stab wounds), Desmond Hill (strangulation), and Justin Wilkerson (asphyxia, neck compression). The seventh, Michael Canty, died by suicide (hanging). The Atlanta Journal‑Constitution documented these killings as part of its prison‑homicides investigation; a lawsuit filed after Hakeem’s death alleges the four attackers had known histories of violence and that staff failed to provide timely adequate medical care. Hill’s mother had told reporters her son warned officials his cellmate threatened to kill him the day before his death. These fatalities unfolded at a prison that the AJC and The Marshall Project described as severely understaffed—with about two‑thirds of officer posts vacant—and awash in contraband and gang‑driven violence, conditions that would later lead to the indictment of Smith’s warden on RICO and bribery charges.Ware State Prison (Deputy Warden, 2022–2024)
Cox’s three years as Deputy Warden at Ware State Prison accounted for the largest share of attributed deaths: 43. The record shows a relentless toll, with homicides, suicides, drug overdoses, and natural deaths. Among the homicides, coroners ruled: Vadarian Carr (stab wounds to chest and back, 2022); Kyle Strother (stab wound of chest, 2022); Thomas McCoy (stab wound of chest, 2023); Alfonso Moore (blunt impact head injuries, assaulted by cellmate, 2023); Samuel Ellis (multiple sharp force injuries, 2024); Leonardo Anderson (multiple stab wounds, 2024); Squaier Jiles (exsanguination due to multiple sharp force wounds, 2024); and Scott Hullander (multiple sharp force injuries, 2024, coroner ruling homicide). Suicides by hanging included Kaleb Roberts (2022), Courtney Jackson (2022), Tyler Grogan (2023), Rickey Barron (2023), Anthony Castleberry (2023), Trevanti Givens (2023), and Scott Bardwell (2024). Several deaths were tied to methamphetamine toxicity, while others were natural. The AJC reported that ten men were killed at Ware between July 2020 and August 2024, often involving multiple inmates. An event log notes that DonTavis Mintz’s body went undiscovered for days, his mother identifying him by a single tooth when his remains were returned. The GDC investigated Kojack Thomas Jr.’s death as a potential homicide. Ware’s violence occurred against a backdrop of system‑wide DOJ scrutiny over understaffing, violence, and staff‑enabled contraband networks.Special Management Unit (Warden, 2026)
As Warden, one death is attributed to Cox’s tenure at the Special Management Unit: Antony Ramon Penick, 32, died on May 30, 2026. The cause category is listed in GPS records as “other” with no further detail available. Cox assumed leadership of the SMU after a federal judge had held the GDC in contempt for falsifying documents and backdating prisoner review forms to conceal non‑compliance with a settlement. The DOJ’s October 2024 report characterized conditions in Georgia’s prisons as “horrific and inhumane,” and an AJC investigation documented that prison records showed a deceased inmate attending activities after his death. These systemic failures form the environment Cox inherited and continued to oversee as warden.Dodge State Prison (Warden, 2025–2026)
No deaths are attributed to Cox’s tenure as Warden of Dodge State Prison. A state settlement ledger records a $16,000 liability payout tied to an incident at Dodge in 2025, but the date and context place it before his appointment, and no inmate fatality is linked to his leadership there.Litigation
- Scott v. Taylor, 3:25‑cv‑00107 (S.D. Ga., filed Nov. 6, 2025) — pending.
- Brown v. Odum, 5:25‑cv‑00062 (S.D. Ga., filed June 30, 2025) — pending.
- Jackson v. Odum, 5:25‑cv‑00051 (S.D. Ga., filed June 9, 2025) — pending.
- Daker v. Ward, 7:20‑cv‑00113 (M.D. Ga., filed June 11, 2020) — terminated Nov. 3, 2021.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation (Smith and Ware death records and allegations)
- Ware County Coroner / GBI DOFS records (via GPS open‑records responses) — cause and manner rulings for all Ware deaths
- The Georgia Virtue — coverage of Smith State Prison RICO indictment and contraband allegations
- The Marshall Project — reporting on understaffing and conditions at Smith State Prison
- U.S. Department of Justice — October 2024 findings on Georgia prisons
- Federal court dockets — Daker, Scott, Brown, Jackson cases via CourtListener
- GPS settlement ledger — Kimyania Smith payout at Dodge State Prison (2025)
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Warden | SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT | 2026-01-16 → present |
| Warden | DODGE STATE PRISON | 2025-07-16 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT | 2025-01-01 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | WARE STATE PRISON | 2022-01-01 → 2024-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2020-01-01 → 2020-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL CAPTAIN | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → 2019-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | 2016-01-01 → 2018-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP) | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2008-01-01 → 2008-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3:25-cv-00107 | GASD | 2025-11-06 | pending |
| 5:25-cv-00062 | GASD | 2025-06-30 | pending |
| 5:25-cv-00051 | GASD | 2025-06-09 | pending |
| 7:20-cv-00113 | GAMD | 2020-06-11 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
51 people died at facilities under COX, Eric's leadership.
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