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Foston, Jeremy Andrew
Status: active
Profile written June 21, 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
Jeremy Andrew Foston entered Georgia Department of Corrections service as a behavioral health counselor in 2015 and rose to supervisor before becoming Deputy Warden at Hancock State Prison in 2019. GPS records show he has remained in that facility-deputy role through at least early 2026. During his tenure as Deputy Warden, 26 deaths were recorded at Hancock State Prison — a number that encompasses multiple homicides, staff-reported violence, and findings of systemic neglect. The deaths occurred against a backdrop of chronic understaffing (officer vacancy rates above 70% in 2024), a 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report describing a culture of indifference enabling gang violence and sexual assault, and a pending civil-rights lawsuit in which Foston is named as a defendant.What happened on their watch
Foston’s deputy-warden tenure at Hancock State Prison began in 2019. The first death GPS documents under his watch is that of Cesar Arnold Pastrana, 33, who died of a stab wound to the chest on March 13, 2020. In 2021, three more people died: Dwayne Zackery Jr., 22, was stabbed by his cellmate with a homemade knife; Rashad Bolton, 29, sustained a puncture wound to the chest; and Terrill Bernard Howard, 51, was recorded in a separate cause category. The pace quickened in 2022 with the homicides of Charles Tristen McKee (24, stabbed 13 times in the back and head), Norman Jackson Samples (59, blunt force injuries of the head and torso), Terry Lee Bishop (49, blunt force trauma and acute drug toxicity), and two other deaths attributed to other causes. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a lawsuit alleges McKee was placed in a dorm with gang members known to be hostile to LGBTQ prisoners and that staff ignored his repeated requests to be moved; the DOJ investigation found he jumped through stair railings to escape attackers who continued stabbing him.In 2023, Francisco Melgar-Saldivar, 26, died of strangulation and blunt force injuries; a claim filed against the state, reported by the AJC, alleges he was not given appropriate medical care after an attack. Roland Lamont Phillips, 33, died of multiple sharp-force injuries that June, and a murder warrant was served against his cellmate. Travon Walthour was stabbed to death in October 2024, and by early 2025 two men — William Holeman, 34, and Prince Porter, 38 — were found dead in the same dorm after what the AJC described as gang-related violence. The year 2026 brought five more deaths by early April: Steven Wood was beaten by a cellmate and later died at a hospital; Jaylin Bell was killed by his roommate; Jerrod Johnson was fatally stabbed; and Jacorey Derrelle Pearson died under investigation. Each of these deaths occurred while Foston served as Deputy Warden, according to GPS records.
The AJC’s Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation highlighted Hancock State Prison’s 73.5% correctional officer vacancy rate as of October 2024, leaving roughly 49 officers for over 1,100 prisoners. Consultants cited by the AJC found that staffing vacancies at 20 of Georgia’s 34 prisons had reached “emergency levels,” making basic safety protocols impossible. A 2024 DOJ report described “stunning violence” and gang-controlled facilities statewide. Additionally, while not among the 26 deaths tallied by GPS, a notable incident during Foston’s tenure was the March 2019 suicide of Amanuel Selassie Geberyesus, who, according to the AJC, had expressed suicidal thoughts and was placed in a regular cell contrary to a counselor’s advice; the state later settled a related claim for $600,000.
Litigation
- Spradlin v. Toby, No. 5:23‑cv‑00328 (M.D. Ga. filed Aug. 29, 2023) — pending federal lawsuit naming Foston among defendants; nature of claims tied to conditions of confinement.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation, reporting on individual deaths at Hancock State Prison (McKee, Melgar‑Saldivar, Phillips, Samples, Bishop, Bolton, Zackery, Pastrana, Wood, Bell, Johnson, and others), staffing vacancy analysis, DOJ findings, and settlement in Geberyesus death.
- U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 report on violence, sexual assault, and gang‑run prisons in Georgia.
- GPS records — personnel file, death‑during‑tenure logs, and facility‑level counts (26 deaths at Hancock State Prison under Deputy Warden Foston).
- Court records — Spradlin v. Toby (PACER/CourtListener).
- 13WMAZ, Union‑Recorder, 41NBC — coverage of specific homicides and incidents at Hancock State Prison (e.g., Andre Weems stabbing, Corey Jose July stabbing, Jaylin Bell death).
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| DEPUTY WARDEN | HANCOCK STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → present |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR SPV | 2017-01-01 → 2018-12-31 | |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 3 | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 | |
| BEH HEALTH/COUNSELOR (WL) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:23-cv-00328 | GAMD | 2023-08-29 | pending |
Deaths attributed during tenure
26 people died at facilities under Foston, Jeremy Andrew's leadership.
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