Grier, Tamara

Tenure Summary

Tamara Grier has worked in Georgia corrections since at least 2003, beginning as a correctional officer at Hancock State Prison, later serving as a sergeant and lieutenant, then as a correctional unit manager at Johnson State Prison in 2021–2022 and at Hancock State Prison in 2023–2024. She became Deputy Warden of Security at Washington State Prison on November 16, 2025. GPS records attribute 14 deaths to Grier’s facility-leader tenure, all recorded at Washington State Prison. The records list no lawsuits naming Grier as a defendant.

What happened on their watch

Hancock State Prison — correctional officer (2003; 2015–2017) and correctional unit manager (2023–2024). GPS records show no deaths attributed to Grier’s Hancock postings. Reporting from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution contemporaneous with her 2024 unit-manager tenure described Hancock as having one of the GDC’s highest correctional officer vacancy rates — 73.5% vacant as of October 2024, leaving 49 officers for more than 1,100 prisoners — along with gang-related violence and broken cell locks. These are systemic findings, not deaths attributed to Grier.

Johnson State Prison — correctional unit manager (2021–2022). GPS records show no deaths attributed to Grier’s Johnson tenure.

Washington State Prison — Deputy Warden of Security (November 16, 2025–present). The 14 attributed deaths began roughly a month after Grier took the deputy warden role.

On December 15, 2025, Benjamin Horne, 51, died; GBI autopsy records list methamphetamine toxicity and manner accident. The next day, Taylor Allen Howard, 66, died; GBI records indicate the medical examiner declined an examination and suggested a sign-out of complications of lung cancer, natural manner.

On January 9, 2026, Dajhmere Ladeavon Hall, 30, died of acute oxycodone toxicity, manner accident, according to GBI autopsy records.

On January 11, 2026, a gang-affiliated disturbance at Washington State Prison killed Teddy Dewayne Jackson, 27; Ahmod Dewayne Hatcher, 23; and Jimmy Lee Trammell, 42. A Washington County death certificate lists Jackson’s manner as homicide from a stab wound of the torso. Hatcher and Trammell are recorded in GPS records as riot deaths based on prisoner reports. Silas Rodrigiouz Westbrook, 42, injured in the same disturbance, died on January 17, 2026; a Washington County death certificate lists homicide from delayed complications of multiple sharp-force injuries. Those four deaths are tied to the January 11 riot.

Three additional records dated February 17, 2026 — John Doe, John Doe 2, and John Doe 3 — are user-reported and flagged by GPS as investigation-only; GPS notes they were not on the official February GDC mortality list. Frank Smith, 75, has a May 6, 2026 death record with no cause note. On June 9, 2026, Deshawn Poole, 34, died; a user report in GPS records alleges a slow facility response and that the facility hung up on callers requesting a wellness check. On June 13, 2026, Courtney Davis, 43, died; GDC stated the cause was undetermined with no signs of an altercation. On June 14, 2026, Isreal Moses Jones, 68, died; GDC listed the cause as undetermined, while GPS records carry a confidential-source account classifying the death as a homicide. GPS event records note that GDC’s Office of Professional Standards opened investigations into the Davis and Jones deaths.

Broader Washington State Prison patterns documented during Grier’s tenure include WGXA reporting that Luis Alfonso Ramirez was federally indicted for allegedly directing a drug trafficking network from the prison using contraband cellphones, and 11Alive/13WMAZ reporting that GDC alleged riot participants were gang-affiliated. GPS records also identify Washington State Prison as a DOJ-CRIPA-named facility.

Sources

• GPS records — personnel history, death registry, and investigation notes
• GDC June 2026 monthly mortality report, via GPS transcription
• GBI Division of Forensic Sciences autopsy/DOFS records — Horne, Hall, Howard
• Washington County death certificates and coroner records — Jackson, Westbrook
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Hancock staffing/violence reporting; Washington State Prison riot and DOJ findings coverage
• 41NBC, WGXA, 11Alive, 13WMAZ, WMAZ, WFXL — Washington State Prison deaths, riot, gang-affiliation, and contraband indictment coverage
• U.S. Department of Justice 2024 findings, as cited in news reports

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 30, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.