Grier, Tamara

Tenure Summary

Tamara Grier's career in Georgia's prison system began as a correctional officer at Hancock State Prison in 2003, returning there in 2015 and rising through sergeant (2016–2017) and lieutenant (2018–2020) ranks before moving into unit management at Johnson State Prison (2021–2022) and back at Hancock (2023–2024). She held a unit manager posting without a listed facility from January 1 to November 15, 2025. On November 16, 2025, Commissioner Tyrone Oliver announced her appointment as Deputy Warden of Security at Washington State Prison, noting more than 22 years of experience in the system; she held that post until September 15, 2026, per the appointment record and position history.

GPS's death registry attributes 15 deaths to her leadership tenure, all at Washington State Prison. No lawsuit naming her as a defendant appears in the records. Her tenure covers the January 2026 disturbance that left four incarcerated men dead and more than a dozen people injured, the subsequent felony murder charges against twelve incarcerated men, a federal drug-trafficking indictment tied to contraband cellphones at the facility, and a wave of reported deaths in the spring and summer of 2026.

What happened on their watch

Washington State Prison — Deputy Warden of Security, November 16, 2025 – September 15, 2026

Fifteen deaths are attributed to this posting. Per GPS's death registry:

• Taylor Allen Howard died December 16, 2025, at Washington State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Benjamin Horne died December 15, 2025, at Washington State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Overdose.
• Dajhmere Ladaveon Hall died January 9, 2026, at Washington State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Overdose.
• Teddy Dewayne Jackson died January 11, 2026, at Washington State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• Jimmy Lee Trammell died January 11, 2026, at Washington State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• Ahmod Dewayne Hatcher died January 11, 2026, at Washington State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• Silas Rodrigioeuz Westbrook died January 17, 2026, at Washington State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• Frank Smith died May 6, 2026, at Washington State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Deshawn Poole died June 9, 2026, at Washington State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• Courtney Davis died June 13, 2026, at Washington State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Isreal Moses Jones died June 14, 2026, at Washington State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• Joseph Earl Adams died August 30, 2026, at Washington State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.

The January 11, 2026 disturbance is the defining event of the tenure. GDC described it as a gang-affiliated fight that began around 1:25 p.m., with staff deploying non-lethal weapons and regaining control by about 3 p.m.; the AJC reported four dead and twelve injured, and GDC said thirteen incarcerated people and one correctional officer were injured. Trammell and Hatcher were pronounced dead at the scene; Jackson died hours later at a hospital; Westbrook, injured in the disturbance, died January 17 after a medical emergency while being transferred to Metro Reentry Facility. GDC's Office of Professional Standards opened investigations, which the department called standard procedure. On April 28, 2026, GDC confirmed twelve incarcerated men had been charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, gang participation and unlawful acts of violence in a penal institution. GDC's response to a GPS open records request showed six officers on duty at the facility at the time of the January gang war.

Monitored communications reported at the facility during her tenure allege that security threat groups control several housing buildings with staff allowing them private rooms, that groups pay others to commit and film assaults, that a stabbing occurred during a facility-wide lockdown begun early in 2026, and that commissary limits were applied unequally by group affiliation. At least seven deaths following the January melee were alleged in one monitored conversation — an allegation not confirmed by GDC. A family member reported a continuous lockdown of roughly 50 days with commissary withheld from the general population, and another reported legal mail held well past the SOP 227.06 window. Former inmates Brandon and Earl White told 13WMAZ that gangs dominate daily life, that dorms are overcrowded and chronically understaffed, and that programming has disappeared. A November 25, 2025 report described housing units at Washington and Dooly with no officer present for hours or entire shifts.

GDC said the June deaths of Davis and Jones were undetermined, with no signs of altercation or foul play. Separately, WGXA reported the May 27, 2026 federal indictment of Luis Alfonso Ramirez, accused of directing a drug network from Washington State Prison via contraband cellphones; Homeland Security Investigations and GBI seized 35 kg of methamphetamine and 3.5 kg of fentanyl valued at $225,000, plus $145,000 cash. Coverage during the tenure also cited a 2024 DOJ finding that Georgia officials were "deliberately indifferent" to violence and drug use, and a Gov. Kemp-commissioned consultant study finding malfunctioning locks and unmonitored movement.

Sources

• GPS death registry — deaths at Washington State Prison during the Deputy Warden of Security tenure
• Georgia Department of Corrections — statements on the January 2026 disturbance, the June 2026 deaths, and the twelve felony murder charges
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — January and April 2026 reporting on the disturbance, deaths, injuries, and charges
• 13WMAZ — gang-affiliation statements, former-inmate accounts (Brandon, Earl White), and the twelve charged
• WFXL — twelve charged in the gang-affiliated disturbance
• WGXA — Silas Westbrook death, GDC statements, and the Ramirez contraband-cellphone indictment
• 11Alive — GDC gang-affiliation statement
• 41NBC — Rep. Billy Hitchens on cell-door locks, DOJ 2024 findings, fourth death confirmation
• GPS case submissions and monitored-communication records — facility allegations, lockdown and commissary reports, legal-mail complaint
• Commissioner's appointment announcement, November 16, 2025

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Oct 18, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.