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Emmons, Shawn F
On GDC's 2025 payroll
Profile written September 23, 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
Shawn F. Emmons is an active Georgia Department of Corrections administrator whose facility-leadership career ran from 2016 to July 2025. He served as Warden at Johnson State Prison (2016), Wilcox State Prison (2017), Valdosta State Prison (2018–2022), Hays State Prison (2022–2023), and Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison (2023–July 2025), before moving into a regional post as Assistant Director for the Southwest Region on 2025-07-16. His state salary rose from $64,638.30 as Warden 1 at Johnson in 2016 to $112,757.83 as Warden 3 at GDCP in 2024.
Across those leadership tenures, 62 deaths are attributed to his watch — 38 at GDCP, 15 at Valdosta, and 9 at Hays, per the death records GPS compiles from state sources. No deaths are attributed to his warden years at Johnson or Wilcox. He is a named defendant in four federal lawsuits, and court dockets list him among defendants in eight others. None of the news mentions in the provided records names him directly.
What happened on their watch
Johnson State Prison — Correction Administration (2015), Warden 1 (2016). Records list Emmons in a non-leadership administrative post at Johnson in 2015; no incident data is compiled for that period. As Warden 1 in 2016, no deaths are attributed to his tenure. A state liability payout of $2,000 tied to Johnson (Larry Singletary, 2016) is recorded during that warden year.
Wilcox State Prison — Warden 1 (2017). No deaths are attributed to his year as warden there. A state liability payout of $750,000 tied to Wilcox (James Wheeler, incident 2017) is recorded during his tenure.
Valdosta State Prison — Warden 1 (2018-07-01 to 2018-12-31), then Warden 3/Warden (2019 to 2022-02-28). 15 deaths are attributed to his Valdosta leadership. Decedents in the records range in age from 29 to 74 and include Hakeem Olajuwon Williams, 27, who died Feb. 28, 2022 from a stab wound to the chest — a claim filed against the state alleged an officer placed him in a cell while handcuffed and he was attacked by a cellmate; Bobby Carpenter, 31, who died Sept. 9, 2020 from a stab wound to the chest; Orvonta Tillman, 36, who died June 16, 2020 from multiple sharp-force trauma to the thorax; and Prince Blige, 54, who died Feb. 12, 2020 from a stab wound to the torso. State liability payouts tied to Valdosta during his tenure include seven 2019 settlements totaling $36,450, plus $10,000 (Micki Brown, 2018) and $60,000 (Terry Berrian, incident 2021), per the GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger.
Hays State Prison — Warden 3 (2022), Warden (2023-01-01 to 2023-06-30). 9 deaths are attributed to his Hays leadership, with decedents aged 25 to 79. Quintez Deshon Smith, 25, died Aug. 29, 2022 from multiple sharp force injuries. A $35,000 state liability payout to Synita Hudgins is tied to Hays (incident 2022). An intel event dated Feb. 1, 2023 records the arrest of GDC warden Brian Adams on charges related to misconduct at Hays, during Emmons's warden tenure there.
Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison — Warden 3 (2023-01-01 to 2023-06-30), Warden (2023-07-01 to 2025-07-15). 38 deaths are attributed to his GDCP leadership — the largest share of his total. These include Mark Smith, 53, whose June 2025 death records describe neglect: advanced Parkinson's disease, denied medical unit transfer, medication failures, and being found dead in a cell after hours without security rounds. Brandon Trace Burrell, 31, died Jan. 28, 2024 from methamphetamine intoxication complicated by a physical altercation, and the AJC reported he was assaulted by another inmate and suffered numerous stab wounds. The AJC also reported (Jan. 21, 2025) that Charles Lee Broady Jr., after requesting protection from threatening gang members, was moved to a location where six gang members attacked him with razor blades. On March 31, 2025, the AJC reported that almost every part of GDCP had been vandalized by prisoners amid widespread infrastructure failures. Other AJC reports describe a newly convicted inmate, Shane Tassi, possessing a homemade shank and contraband cell phone within days of arrival (June 22, 2024), and 35 cellphones seized from David "Toro" Zavala at his guilty plea (Sept. 5, 2024). Intel event records describe Ronald Allen suffering severe cold injury to his hands in April 2024 after being ordered to separate frozen beef patties with inadequate protective equipment during a prison riot response, and an April 6, 2025 record of a prisoner stabbed fatally in the chest, witnessed by multiple inmates, with a 30-minute delay before officer response.
Litigation
- Martin v. Emmons, No. 1:18-cv-04617 (N.D. Ga.), filed 2018-10-03 — pending.
- Battle v. Emmons, No. 7:20-cv-00106 (M.D. Ga.), filed 2020-06-04 — terminated 2022-09-30.
- Burns v. Emmons, No. 7:22-cv-00036 (M.D. Ga.), filed 2022-04-08 — terminated 2022-12-05.
- Daker v. Emmons, No. 4:23-cv-00213 (N.D. Ga.), filed 2023-09-22 — terminated 2024-02-20.
- Also docketed with Emmons listed as a defendant: Miller v. Holt (2025, pending), Daker v. Oliver (2024, pending) and its 2025 filing-restriction companion (terminated 2026-03-30), Pace v. Oliver (2024, terminated), Pye v. Oliver (2024, terminated), Nance v. Oliver (2020, terminated 2025), Towry v. Stacey Nicholson (2015, terminated 2017), and Gumm v. Jacobs (2015, terminated 2019). No outcomes or payout amounts are recorded for these dockets.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reports on GDCP conditions, the 2024 Burrell homicide, the Broady protection failure, contraband cell phones, and Georgia prison homicides
- CourtListener federal dockets (N.D. Ga. and M.D. Ga.) — case filings listed above
- Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) — liability payouts tied to Johnson, Wilcox, Valdosta, and Hays
- Georgia Department of Corrections personnel and salary records — positions and compensation, 2013–2025
- GPS compiled death records and intel event records for Johnson, Wilcox, Valdosta, Hays, and GDCP
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Assistant Region Director | 2026-08-27 → present | |
| Assistant Director for the Southwest Region | 2025-07-16 → present | |
| WARDEN 3 | 2025-01-01 → present | |
| WARDEN 3 | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2024-12-31 |
| Warden 3 | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2023-11-22 → 2023-11-22 |
| Warden | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2023-07-01 → 2025-07-15 |
| Warden | HAYS STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2023-06-30 |
| WARDEN 3 | HAYS STATE PRISON | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 |
| Warden | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2022-01-01 → 2022-02-28 |
| WARDEN 3 | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → 2021-12-31 |
| WARDEN 1 | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2018-07-01 → 2018-12-31 |
| WARDEN 1 | WILCOX STATE PRISON | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 |
| WARDEN 1 | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 |
| CORRECTION ADMINISTRATION | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
| Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment | 2013-01-01 → 2013-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:25-cv-00356 | GAMD | 2025-08-25 | pending |
| 1:25-cv-03191 | GAND | 2025-06-06 | terminated |
| 1:24-cv-02687 | GAND | 2024-06-20 | pending |
| 1:24-cv-01557 | GAND | 2024-04-12 | terminated |
| 3:24-cv-00048 | GAND | 2024-03-11 | terminated |
| 4:23-cv-00213 | GAND | 2023-09-22 | terminated |
| 7:22-cv-00036 | GAMD | 2022-04-08 | terminated |
| 7:20-cv-00106 | GAMD | 2020-06-04 | terminated |
| 1:20-cv-00107 | GAND | 2020-01-08 | terminated |
| 1:18-cv-04617 | GAND | 2018-10-03 | pending |
| 2:15-cv-00172 | GAND | 2015-08-17 | terminated |
| 5:15-cv-00041 | GAMD | 2015-02-12 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
62 people died at facilities under Emmons, Shawn F's leadership.
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