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Dogan, Helen R
Status: active
Profile written May 31, 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
Helen R. Dogan joined the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2015 in a Business Operations role, and the following year began a continuous tenure as Deputy Warden at Washington State Prison, a post she held through at least early 2026. GPS records attribute 38 deaths to the facility during her service as a facility deputy leader, all at Washington State Prison. The deaths include multiple homicides, a suicide, and a mass-casualty gang-affiliated disturbance in January 2026 that killed four incarcerated men and injured over a dozen others. No lawsuits naming Dogan as a defendant appear in GPS records.What happened on their watch
Dogan served as Deputy Warden at Washington State Prison from 2016 onward, a period in which 38 deaths occurred inside the facility. The deaths span natural causes, suicide, and multiple homicides. GPS records show that several deaths drew media and investigative attention: an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation documented homicides including Michael Lee Jackson (2022, multiple blunt-force injuries), Marquis Reshawn Jefferson (2022, stab wounds), Devonte Tiger Williams (2024, multiple sharp-force injuries), and Jacob Cole Henson (2024, shot by a GDC officer during a hospital transport, per an AJC allegation). Dajhmere Ladaeveon Hall died under cause category 6 in January 2026. In January 2025, Dontavious Carter died from a puncture wound to the heart. One suicide by hanging was recorded in February 2026.The most severe incident on Dogan’s watch was the January 2026 gang-affiliated disturbance. On January 11, a fight that began among inmates on a sidewalk spilled into a visitation area, killing Teddy Dewayne Jackson, 27, Ahmod Dewayne Hatcher, 23, and Jimmy Lee Trammell, 42, according to news reports and GDC statements. Silas Rodrigiouz Westbrook, 42, was stabbed during that riot and later died after a transfer to Metro Reentry Facility; WMAZ reported his death was attributed to a lack of proper medical care. Twelve other inmates were injured, and a correctional officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries. GDC officials described the incident as gang-affiliated, and twelve inmates were subsequently charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, gang participation, and unlawful acts of violence. The prison was placed on lockdown and remained so for weeks; a family member later reported to GPS that the facility stayed on continuous lockdown for approximately 50 days.
Broader systemic findings from state and federal investigations overlapped Dogan’s tenure. A 2024 Department of Justice investigation, cited by the AJC and 41NBC, found that Georgia prison officials exhibited “deliberate indifference” to unchecked violence, drug trafficking, extortion, and sexual abuse. A consultant study commissioned by Governor Kemp in June 2024 found that maintenance deficiencies enabled prisoners to manufacture weapons, locks were nonfunctional, and severe understaffing left areas unmonitored. Former inmates interviewed by 13WMAZ alleged that overcrowding, chronic understaffing, gang dominance, and a lack of programming created an environment ripe for riots. Allegations specific to Washington State Prison included a federal indictment of inmate Luis Alfonso Ramirez for operating a drug trafficking ring using contraband cellphones (per WGXA), and a family report to GPS that legal mail had been withheld beyond permissible delivery windows. A separate federal lawsuit, Buttrum v. Herring, challenged parole processes for juvenile lifers, but Dogan is not named as a party in that litigation.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — homicide investigation coverage and DOJ report on prison conditions
- 13WMAZ — reporting on the January 2026 riot, allegations of neglect, and former inmate interviews
- 41NBC — DOJ findings on deliberate indifference, gang-run black markets, and riot updates
- WGXA — coverage of the drug trafficking indictment and family allegations following Jimmy Trammell’s death
- 11Alive — GDC characterization of the disturbance as gang-affiliated
- WFXL — reporting on charges against twelve inmates
- GPS records — death counts, intel reports, and user-submitted family complaints
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| DEPUTY WARDEN | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → present |
| BUSINESS OPERATIONS | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
38 people died at facilities under Dogan, Helen R's leadership.
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