Henderson, Marcus

Tenure Summary

What happened on their watch

At Smith State Prison, Henderson served as Deputy Warden of Security from January 2019 to January 2023. In that period, 17 incarcerated people lost their lives. Nine were homicides confirmed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

• Taylor Harrison Brooks, 26, died on April 10, 2020, from multiple stab wounds.
• John Brently Reyes, 24, died on April 20, 2020, from exsanguination due to a stab wound to the neck.
• Justin Wilkerson, 25, died on January 5, 2021, from asphyxia due to neck compression.
• Desmond Hill, 35, died on April 9, 2021, from strangulation. (Hill had reportedly called his mother the day before to say his cellmate threatened to kill him, according to the AJC.)
• Hiwatha Abdullah Hakeem, 26, died on April 12, 2021, from multiple stab wounds.
• Derrick Dionte Harvey, 26, died on June 25, 2021, from a stab wound to the chest.
• Christopher Reynolds, 38, died on July 1, 2021, from blunt and sharp force injuries to the head and neck.
• Christopher M. Redwine, 45, died on September 27, 2021, from asphyxia due to manual strangulation.
• Nathan Michael Mahan, 37, died on October 23, 2022, from stab wounds.

Eight additional deaths were listed with unknown or undetermined causes. Most notably, Jerome Tisdol, 67, died on May 28, 2022. GBI records obtained by GPS show that the coroner requested an autopsy, but the GBI declined, explicitly marking it “not necessary.” Other undetermined deaths included Joseph Norris (55), Roderick Golden (51), Christopher Heath (43), Michael Canty (35), Michael Lewis Turner (38), Manuel Villagomez (24), and Juan Miguel Orduna (39).

Henderson’s security role unfolded inside a facility that, according to multiple reports, was in profound crisis. The AJC described Smith State Prison as “one of the most understaffed, violent, and dysfunctional facilities” in the state system, with roughly two-thirds of correctional officer positions unfilled. The U.S. Department of Justice opened a statewide investigation into Georgia prison conditions in September 2021. During Henderson’s tenure, a sprawling contraband operation run by inmate Nathan Weekes allegedly flourished — involving cell phones, drugs, and weapons smuggled with the help of staff. Warden Brian Adams was later indicted on RICO and other felony charges for his role in the scheme; the indictment alleges Weekes ordered three murders, including the mistaken-identity killing of an 88-year-old man, from inside the prison. Although Henderson was the Deputy Warden of Security at the time these systemic failures took root, GPS records show no lawsuits naming him personally as a defendant.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation: causes of death for all nine homicides; facility understaffing and dysfunction.
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on contraband scheme, warden indictment, and Weekes murder allegations.
• GBI Division of Forensic Sciences records (ORR R000400-071026): autopsy declination for Jerome Tisdol.
• The Georgia Virtue — Tattnall County grand jury indictment of former warden Brian Adams, civil lawsuit alleging criminal conspiracy.
• The Marshall Project — severe understaffing, decomposing body not discovered for days.
• Georgia Public Broadcasting — drone smuggling of a firearm used in the 2024 kitchen homicide (post-Henderson tenure, but referencing contraband patterns that began earlier).
• WTOC — arrest of a former Smith State Prison employee for sexual assault of a corrections employee.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Jul 12, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.