Foston, Jeremy Andrew

Tenure Summary

Jeremy Andrew Foston joined the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2015 as a behavioral health counselor, rising to supervisor before transitioning into a facility-deputy leadership role. GPS records show he has served continuously as Deputy Warden at Hancock State Prison from 2019 through at least 2025. During that tenure, GPS records attribute 26 deaths at Hancock State Prison while Foston held the Deputy Warden role — the majority classified as homicides (cause category 3), with the remainder in a separate cause category (6). He is named as a defendant in one active federal civil rights lawsuit. The facility has drawn repeated scrutiny from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and, per the AJC, was the subject of findings in a 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report on Georgia prison conditions.

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What Happened on Their Watch

Hancock State Prison — Deputy Warden, 2019–present

Foston has held the Deputy Warden post at Hancock State Prison continuously since 2019. GPS records attribute 26 deaths at the facility during his tenure. The homicide toll is pronounced: the AJC's Georgia Prison Homicides investigation documents cause-of-death details for at least ten of those deaths, including stab wounds, blunt force trauma, and strangulation. Among the documented homicides: Cesar Arnold Pastrana Morales, 33, died March 13, 2020 from a stab wound to the chest, with an incident report showing five other inmates involved; Rashad Bolton, 29, died January 4, 2021 from a puncture wound to the chest; Dwayne Zackery Jr., 22, died February 12, 2021 from a stab wound delivered by his cellmate with a homemade knife; Charles "Tristen" McKee, 24, was stabbed 13 times on May 23, 2022 — according to the AJC, he had repeatedly asked to be moved the day before his death, stating his life was in danger, and a lawsuit alleges he was placed in a dorm with known gang members hostile to LGBTQ inmates; Terry Lee Bishop, 49, died October 18, 2022 from blunt force trauma combined with acute methamphetamine and cannabinoid toxicity; Norman Jackson Samples, 59, died December 27, 2022 from blunt force injuries to the head and torso; Roland Lamont Phillips, 33, died June 28, 2023 from 11 puncture wounds to the torso and one to the neck, with a murder warrant served against his cellmate per GPS records; Francisco Melgar-Saldivar, 26, died August 12, 2023 from strangulation and blunt force injuries — a claim filed against the state, per the AJC, alleges he was not provided appropriate medical care after being attacked. In 2024, Travon Montrell Walthour, 29, was stabbed to death on October 13, with GPS records showing four other prisoners were involved. In January 2025, William Holeman and Prince Porter were found dead in the same dormitory approximately 15–20 feet apart following gang-related violence; Porter had a single puncture wound to his upper back, per GPS records. Corey Jose July, 33, was stabbed to death in the prison yard on June 17, 2025, per reporting by 13WMAZ, FOX 5, WGXA, and the Union-Recorder. Andre Rashad Weems, 36, was fatally stabbed on September 9, 2025; eight individuals were charged with malice murder but a grand jury subsequently no-billed the charges, per 13WMAZ, the Union-Recorder, 41NBC, and FOX 5. Into 2026, GPS records document four additional homicide-category deaths: Steven Monroe Wood, 54, beaten in his cell on January 25 and transferred to Wellstar MCG Health in Augusta where he died, per the Union-Recorder; Jaylin Bell, 32, killed by his cellmate on February 6 in the restrictive housing unit (G1), per a Telegram inmate report and 41NBC; Jerrod Johnson, 27, fatally stabbed around 4:45 p.m. on February 18; and Jacorey Pearson, whose death on April 5, 2026 is under active investigation by the GDC's Office of Professional Standards, per GPS records.

Across this period, the AJC reported that Hancock State Prison carried one of the GDC's highest correctional officer vacancy rates — 73.5% of positions vacant as of October 2024, leaving approximately 49 officers for more than 1,100 prisoners. Consultants cited by the AJC found staffing vacancies at 20 of Georgia's 34 prisons had reached "emergency levels," with broken cell locks allowing prisoners to move freely. A 2024 DOJ report, described by the AJC as finding "stunning violence, rampant sexual assaults and other dangerous conditions" in Georgia prisons fueled by a "culture of indifference," overlaps directly with Foston's tenure at Hancock. An intel report logged by GPS also notes an allegation that prison officials placed an inmate, Amanuel Selassie Geberyesus, in a regular cell contrary to a counselor's advice after he expressed suicidal thoughts, and that he subsequently died by suicide. Separate Telegram-relayed GPS intelligence reports allege a stabbing in the visitation area and a gang attack in which Gangster Disciples inmates assaulted Crips inmates while sleeping in the H1 dormitory.

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Litigation

• Spradlin v. Toby, No. 5:23-cv-00328 (U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia), filed August 29, 2023 — Foston is named as a defendant; case remains pending as of GPS records; no settlement amount recorded.

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Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides investigation; reporting on McKee, Melgar-Saldivar, Phillips, Samples, Bishop, Walthour, Weems, Wood, and systemic staffing findings at Hancock State Prison
• Union-Recorder (Milledgeville) — reporting on Steven Monroe Wood death, January 2026; Andre Weems stabbing, September 2025; Corey July stabbing, June 2025
• 13WMAZ — reporting on Travon Walthour, Andre Weems, Corey July
• 41NBC — reporting on Jaylin Bell death, Andre Weems
• FOX 5 Atlanta — reporting on Andre Weems, Corey July
• WGXA — reporting on Corey July
• GPS records — deaths-during-tenure data, intel event log, Telegram relay reports (GPS-DEATH-2026-32C5A, GPS-DEATH-2026-A64D6, GPS-DEATH-2026-E9E0E, GPS-DEATH-2026-CE21A)
• CourtListener / GAMD court records — Spradlin v. Toby, No. 5:23-cv-00328
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 report on Georgia prison conditions, as described by the AJC
• Human & Civil Rights Coalition of Georgia / Between Community News — reporting on Travon Walthour

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 6, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.