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Grier, Tamara
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
Tamara Grier’s career with the Georgia Department of Corrections began in 2003 as a correctional officer at Hancock State Prison and spanned more than two decades, progressing through sergeant, lieutenant, and unit manager posts. In that time, Grier held roles at Hancock, Johnson State Prison, and an unspecified facility before being appointed Deputy Warden of Security at Washington State Prison on November 16, 2025. That promotion placed her in a facility‑deputy accountability tier — and coincided with a sharp cluster of deaths. GPS records attribute ten deaths to Grier’s leadership tenure at Washington State Prison between December 2025 and February 2026, including a riot on January 11, 2026, that killed four men. No lawsuits name Grier as a defendant, and her earlier supervisory assignments are not linked to any deaths in the GPS tracking system.What happened on their watch
Grier assumed the deputy warden role on November 16, 2025. Within a month, deaths began. On December 15 and 16, 2025, Benjamin Horne (51) and Taylor Allen Howard (66) died under cause‑category 6 (other/unknown). On January 9, 2026, Dajhmere LadaVeon Hall (30) also died under cause‑category 6.The defining event of Grier’s tenure erupted on January 11, 2026: a riot inside Washington State Prison. Three men were killed that day: Teddy Dewayne Jackson (27), Ahmod Dewayne Hatcher (23), and Jimmy Lee Trammell (42) — all coded as homicides (category 3). A fourth man, Silas Rodrigiouz Westbrook (42), was stabbed during the disturbance and died on January 17 after transfer to Metro Reentry Facility; GPS notes, citing WMAZ, attribute his death to lack of proper medical care. On February 17, 2026, two unidentified men killed each other in a restrictive housing unit (category 3), and a third died by suicide by hanging (category 2); user‑submitted reports accompanying those deaths ask, “Where were the officers while this fight was going on. Were there any?”
Intelligence reports collected by GPS document broader conditions during Grier’s tenure. The U.S. Department of Justice’s 2024 investigation — repeatedly cited by the Atlanta Journal‑Constitution and 41NBC in coverage of the riot — found Georgia’s prison system marred by “deliberate indifference” to unchecked violence, sexual assault, and gang dominance. At Washington SP, per the AJC, broken cell locks let prisoners roam freely, and understaffing left dorms largely unsupervised. A federal indictment in May 2026 charged inmate Luis Alfonso Ramirez with running a drug‑trafficking network from inside the facility using contraband cellphones; authorities seized 35 kg of methamphetamine, 3.5 kg of fentanyl, and $145,000 in cash. Former inmates told 13WMAZ that gangs extorted and stabbed people routinely, and that staff rarely intervened even in life‑threatening situations. Twelve inmates were charged in April 2026 with felony murder, aggravated assault, and gang participation for the riot, which the GDC described as “gang‑affiliated.”
Litigation
No lawsuits name Tamara Grier as a defendant.Sources
- GPS death records — documentation of 10 deaths at Washington State Prison during Grier’s tenure as Deputy Warden of Security
- 13WMAZ — reporting on riot deaths, former inmate allegations of gang violence and neglect, and charges against 12 inmates
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — coverage of the riot, DOJ findings, infrastructure failures, and allegations of indifference
- 41NBC — details on riot death toll and DOJ’s 2024 findings of deliberate indifference
- WGXA — reporting on drug‑trafficking indictment of Luis Alfonso Ramirez; GDC characterization of the riot as gang‑affiliated
- U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 investigation describing violence and gang‑run prisons in Georgia
- GPS user‑submitted intelligence reports — allegations of legal mail delays, extended lockdown after the riot, and incident reports at Washington State Prison
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden of Security | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | 2025-11-16 → present |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | 2025-01-01 → present | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | HANCOCK STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2024-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | 2018-01-01 → 2020-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL SERGEANT | HANCOCK STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2017-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP) | HANCOCK STATE PRISON | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | HANCOCK STATE PRISON | 2003-01-01 → 2003-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
10 people died at facilities under Grier, Tamara's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-17 | John Doe | — | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2026-02-17 | John Doe 2 | — | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2026-02-17 | John Doe 3 | — | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2026-01-17 | SILAS RODRIGIOEUZ WESTBROOK | 42 | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2026-01-11 | TEDDY DEWAYNE JACKSON | 27 | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2026-01-11 | AHMOD DEWAYNE HATCHER | 23 | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2026-01-11 | JIMMY LEE TRAMMELL | 42 | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2026-01-09 | DAJHMERE LADAVEON HALL | 30 | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-12-16 | TAYLOR ALLEN HOWARD | 66 | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-12-15 | BENJAMIN HORNE | 51 | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
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