Emmons, Shawn F

Tenure Summary

Shawn F. Emmons's GDC career runs from a 2013 Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment post and a 2015 Correction Administration assignment at Johnson State Prison ($39,126.24) into facility command: Warden 1 at Johnson State Prison (2016, $64,638.30) and at Wilcox State Prison (2017, $73,492.56); Warden 1 at Valdosta State Prison from July 2018, Warden 3 there in 2019–2021, and interim Warden there from January 1 to February 28, 2022; Warden 3 at Hays State Prison in 2022 and Warden there through June 30, 2023; and warden-level leadership at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison from 2023 until July 15, 2025. Since July 16, 2025 he has been listed as Assistant Director for the Southwest Region, with an Assistant Region Director entry dated August 27, 2026. His status is active.

GPS's death registry attributes 62 deaths to Emmons's facility-leadership tenures — 38 at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison, 15 at Valdosta State Prison and 9 at Hays State Prison. No deaths are attributed to his leadership postings at Johnson or Wilcox.

What happened on their watch

Johnson State Prison — Warden 1, 2016. No deaths are attributed to this posting. The GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (open records) records a $2,000 state liability payout tied to Johnson State Prison for a 2016 incident, dated April 1, 2016, naming Larry Singletary and listing the role at the time as WARDEN 1.

Wilcox State Prison — Warden 1, 2017. No deaths are attributed to this posting. The same ledger records a $750,000 payout tied to Wilcox State Prison for a 2017 incident, dated October 29, 2017, naming James Wheeler, role listed as WARDEN 1.

Valdosta State Prison — July 2018 to February 2022 (15 deaths). Registry event records name homicides: Bobby Carpenter died September 9, 2020, from a stab wound to the chest; Orvonta Tillman died June 16, 2020, from multiple sharp force penetrating trauma to the thorax; Prince Leonard Blige died February 12, 2020, from a stab wound to the torso; and Hakeem Olajuwon Williams died February 28, 2022, from a stab wound to the chest — the same record notes a claim filed against the state alleged an officer placed him in a cell while handcuffed and he was attacked by a cellmate, an allegation. The GA DOAS ledger lists Valdosta payouts during his tenure of $10,000 (Micki Brown, incident 2018), $5,000 (Kendrick Martin), $1,500 (Brandon Edward Herndon), $3,400 (Christopher D. Beal), $6,500 (Otis Redmon), $3,500 and $1,550 (Reginald E. Grimes), $15,000 (Corey King), all incidents of 2019, and $60,000 (Terry Berrian, incident 2021).

Hays State Prison — 2022 and January 1–June 30, 2023 (9 deaths). Quintez Smith died August 29, 2022, from multiple sharp force injuries, per registry event records. A $35,000 state liability payout tied to Hays for a 2022 incident, dated August 12, 2022, names Synita Hudgins, role listed as WARDEN 3. A GPS incident record dated February 1, 2023 records the arrest of GDC Warden Brian Adams on charges related to misconduct.

Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison — 2023 to July 15, 2025 (38 deaths). Overlapping records list him as Warden 3 at this facility for January 1–June 30, 2023 while also listing him as Warden at Hays for the same months, and as Warden here from July 1, 2023 to July 15, 2025. GPS event records describe the death of Mark Smith from neglect — advanced Parkinson's disease, missed medical transfer requests, medication failures, and hours without security rounds before he was found dead in his cell — and a separate record dated April 6, 2025 describes a prisoner stabbed fatally in the chest, witnessed by multiple inmates, with a 30-minute delay before an officer responded. Records dated April 2024 describe inmate Ronald Allen suffering severe cold injury to his hands after being ordered to separate frozen beef patties with inadequate protective equipment during a prison riot response; records from June 2024 describe newly convicted inmate Shane Tassi photographed with a homemade shank and a contraband cell phone days after arriving. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on March 31, 2025 that almost every part of the prison had been vandalized by prisoners amid widespread infrastructure failures; on January 21, 2025 that Brandon Trace Burrell was assaulted by another inmate while under the effects of methamphetamine and reportedly suffered numerous stab wounds; and that Charles Lee Broady Jr., despite requesting protection from threatening gang members, was moved to a location where six gang members attacked him with razor blades, nearly killing him. The AJC also reported on June 22, 2024 that Tassi possessed a shank and phone within days of arrival, indicating security failures, and on September 5, 2024 that officers had seized 35 cellphones from David "Toro" Zavala.

The registry names these deaths during his tenure, all at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison:

• Woodrow Wilson Hodges died July 14, 2025, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 68.
• Jacob Scott Wilcox died June 28, 2025, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 27.
• Mark Smith died June 7, 2025, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 53.
• David Octavious Robbs died April 30, 2025, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 37.
• Michael Scott West died March 6, 2025, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Accident, age 46.
• William Rhodes died February 20, 2025, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 38.
• John Irvin Jr Tidd died December 15, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 36.
• Willie Henry Ponder died November 8, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 47.
• Thomas Jr Williams died November 7, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 62.
• Stephen Allen Hester died November 6, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 41.
• Joshua Mark Holliday died October 21, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 43.
• Albert Stinson died September 24, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 76.
• Rodriquez Demorris Garrett died September 6, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 30.
• Christopher Shawn Burnett died July 14, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 37.
• Edgar Jaramillo died July 8, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 53.
• Gregory Lindsey died June 28, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 64.
• James Douglas Arrendale died June 25, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 40.
• Gerald Kennard Stewart died June 11, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 67.
• Johnny Earl Mcstotts died May 31, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 48.
• Urban Van Milner died May 16, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 54.
• Kyle Matthew Boone died April 23, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 27.
• Timothy Todd Holbrook died April 8, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 34.
• John Arthur Gilstrap died April 1, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 45.
• Willie James Pye died March 20, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 59.
• Brandon Trace Burrell died January 28, 2024, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 31.

Assistant Director for the Southwest Region — from July 16, 2025. No deaths are attributed to this posting.

Litigation

• Martin v. Emmons, 1:18-cv-04617, court listed as GAND, filed October 3, 2018; status pending.
• Towry v. Stacey Nicholson, 2:15-cv-00172, GAND, filed August 17, 2015, closed October 25, 2017; terminated.
• Gumm v. Jacobs, 5:15-cv-00041, GAMD, filed February 12, 2015, closed May 7, 2019; terminated.
• Battle v. Emmons, 7:20-cv-00106, GAMD, filed June 4, 2020, closed September 30, 2022; terminated.
• Nance v. Oliver, 1:20-cv-00107, GAND, filed January 8, 2020, closed February 13, 2025; terminated.
• Burns v. Emmons, 7:22-cv-00036, GAMD, filed April 8, 2022, closed December 5, 2022; terminated.
• Daker v. Emmons, 4:23-cv-00213, GAND, filed September 22, 2023, closed February 20, 2024; terminated.
• Pye v. Oliver, 3:24-cv-00048, GAND, filed March 11, 2024, closed March 15, 2024; terminated.
• Pace v. Oliver, 1:24-cv-01557, GAND, filed April 12, 2024, closed September 13, 2024; terminated.
• Daker v. Oliver, 1:24-cv-02687, GAND, filed June 20, 2024; status pending.
• Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, 1:25-cv-03191, GAND, filed June 6, 2025, closed March 30, 2026; terminated.
• Miller v. Holt, 5:25-cv-00356, GAMD, filed August 25, 2025; status pending.

No outcome amounts are recorded for any of these dockets.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on GDCP vandalism and infrastructure (March 31, 2025); the Burrell assault and the Broady protection-failure allegation (January 21, 2025); GDCP contraband and the Shane Tassi shank/phone incident (June 22, 2024); Zavala cellphone seizures (September 5, 2024).
• GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (open records) — liability payouts tied to Johnson State Prison (2016), Wilcox State Prison (2017), Valdosta State Prison (2018–2021) and Hays State Prison (2022).
• GPS death registry and incident/event records — 62 deaths attributed across his leadership tenures (38 GDCP, 15 Valdosta, 9 Hays) and the named decedents above.
• CourtListener dockets — Martin, Towry, Gumm, Battle, Nance, Burns, Daker (three), Pye, Pace and Miller v. Holt.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Oct 11, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.