Henderson, Marcus

Tenure Summary

What happened on their watch

Phillips State Prison (2015–2019)

Smith State Prison (2019–2023)

• Homicides: Nine men died by violence, according to the AJC. Causes ranged from stabbings to strangulation and blunt-force trauma. Victims included Nathan Michael Mahan (stab wounds), Christopher M. Redwine (manual strangulation), Christopher Reynolds (blunt and sharp force injuries to head and neck), Derrick Dionte Harvey (stab wound to chest), Hiwatha Abdullah Hakeem (multiple stab wounds), Desmond Hill (strangulation), Justin Wilkerson (asphyxia), John Brently Reyes (exsanguination from stab wound to neck), and Taylor Harrison Brooks (multiple stab wounds). For Hakeem, a subsequent lawsuit alleged that prison officials failed to provide timely medical care after his attack.
• Suicides: A cluster of five hanging suicides was identified in GPS notes and confirmed by GBI autopsies. These include Juan Miguel Orduna, Manuel Villagomez, Michael Lee Canty, Christopher Darnell Heath, and Joseph Franklin Norris.
• Undetermined and unexamined deaths: Two deaths — Jerome Tisdol and Roderick A. Golden — resulted in no state autopsy because the GBI medical examiner declined to conduct an examination, stating it was “not necessary.” In Tisdol’s case, the coroner had specifically requested an autopsy. The cause of death for both men rests on local coroner determinations, not independent forensic examination.
• Drug-related accident: Michael Lewis Turner’s death was attributed to methamphetamine and synthetic cannabinoid toxicity complicating coronary atherosclerotic disease, with the manner ruled accident.

During Henderson’s security oversight, Smith State Prison was regularly described by the AJC as one of the most understaffed and dysfunctional prisons in the state. Two-thirds of correctional officer positions were reportedly unfilled, and the Marshall Project chronicled conditions so dire that staff failed to notice a decomposing body for five days. Inmate Nathan Weekes and the warden, Brian Adams, were later indicted for running a sprawling RICO contraband enterprise — dubbed the Saint Laurent Squad — that funneled cell phones, narcotics, and weapons into the prison. The Georgia Virtue reported that Adams and a correctional officer, Ireon Moore, allegedly facilitated a criminal conspiracy that included ordering a murder from inside the walls; the resulting attack killed 88-year-old Bobby Kicklighter in a case of mistaken identity. Multiple homicides, suicides, and the pervasive contraband operation unfolded while Henderson served as the facility’s deputy warden of security.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia prison homicides investigation (detailed causes of death for nine homicides at Smith SP)
• Georgia Bureau of Investigation Division of Forensic Sciences — autopsy records obtained via open-records requests (R000397‑071026 through R000404‑071026), documenting suicide and declined-autopsy cases
• The Georgia Virtue — reporting on the Tattnall County grand jury indictment of Warden Brian Adams, the RICO contraband scheme, and alleged criminal conspiracy
• The Marshall Project — coverage of severe understaffing and its consequences inside Georgia prisons
• GPS intelligence records — internal notes identifying the Smith SP hanging cluster and GBI declination patterns

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 2, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.