Harris, Latasha M

Tenure Summary

What happened on their watch

The records also include deaths attributed to violence, suicide, or unknown causes:

• Stephen Prochaska, 70, died Jan. 21, 2025. GDC’s released January 2025 mortality data listed “Suicide by Hanging,” and a GBI DOFS autopsy certified the cause as hanging and the manner as suicide.
• Jerry Wayne Merritt, 59, died Jan. 20, 2026. A user report alleges John Jaquis Trimer stabbed Merritt with a “sharpened object” in the chest and shoulder during a commissary-debt dispute; GDC data lists Merritt’s major offense as murder.
• Jacobi Alandis Chomicki, 23, died May 22, 2026. A witness account reported a homicide in the D2 unit with one death and one hospitalization; GDC’s May 2026 mortality report confirmed the death, while the event record said the cause was undetermined and the body was sent to the GBI crime lab.
• Donald Hugh Young, 50, died Aug. 5, 2026. GPS records state his identity was corroborated through GDC’s own exact-ID lookup, which returned a purged record; the cause is listed as unknown/pending.

The death records span ages from 23 (Chomicki) to 86 (Sidney Dorsey and Joe Henry Davis). The GDC Office of Professional Standards opened standard death investigations for Augusta State Medical Prison deaths in 2026. GPS intel reports from 2026 also logged unverified Telegram-relay allegations at the facility, including a stabbing in the eye in D building, a severe beating, and four incarcerated people arriving with jaws wired shut.

Intel reports citing the Atlanta Journal-Constitution document broader systemic allegations tied to Augusta State Medical Prison: guards moved a prisoner with a violent history into Eddie Gosier’s cell before his murder; a correctional officer is accused of aiding in the 2024 stabbing death of Rodarick Lee Hayes, who a DOJ investigation found had been attacked multiple times before his death; Thomas Henry Giles was left in a smoke-filled cell in 2020 and died, leading to a $5 million state settlement; and Jimmy Lucero died in 2016 after being placed in solitary without required medical checks, with a $550,000 settlement recorded. These earlier incidents pre-date Harris’s listed deputy warden tenure but are part of the facility’s documented history. GPS records show no lawsuits naming Harris as a defendant while she held the deputy warden post.

Sources

• GPS records — personnel, mortality, and intel database, Georgia Prisoners’ Speak.
• Richmond County Coroner’s Office case summaries (ORR) — multiple 2025–2026 deaths at Augusta State Medical Prison.
• GDC monthly mortality reports — May 2026 and June 2026; GDC-released January 2025 mortality PDF.
• GBI DOFS Medical Examiner report ME-25-10286 — Stephen Prochaska autopsy.
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Augusta State Medical Prison homicide list and GDC systemic failures reporting.
• U.S. Department of Justice investigation of Georgia prisons, as referenced in AJC-derived intel records.
• GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) — Augusta State Medical Prison settlements.

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.