Ivey, George

Tenure Summary

George Ivey's documented GDC career is concentrated at Hancock State Prison. Records list him as Deputy Warden of Security at Hancock in 2010, in a correction-administration post in 2015 at a salary of $44,332.56, and as Deputy Warden at Hancock from 2016 through 2022, with pay rising from $44,332.56 to $89,866.30. He carried a Deputy Warden title into the first half of 2023, then became Interim Warden at Hancock on July 1, 2023, holding that post through Dec. 31, 2024. He is listed as Warden 3 in 2024 at $101,282.08, as Warden 3 at Georgia State Prison in 2025 at $106,282.08, and in a Warden 3 entry dated Aug. 27, 2026 at Hancock State Prison.

GPS's death registry attributes 15 deaths to his leadership tenure, every one of them at Hancock State Prison — the only facility in the per-facility tally. The registry's causes across those 15 include homicides, suicides, natural/medical deaths, one "Other," and one death still listed as Unknown/Pending. State liability payouts totaling more than $1.4 million are recorded against Hancock incidents falling inside his Deputy Warden years, and eight federal dockets in GAMD list him as a defendant or co-defendant.

What happened on their watch

Hancock State Prison — Deputy Warden of Security (2010); correction administration (2015). Records list the 2010 security post at Hancock and a 2015 correction-administration position with no facility attached.

Hancock State Prison — Deputy Warden (2016–2022, title held into mid-2023). The registry records the following deaths during these years at Hancock:

• Cesar Arnold Pastrana died March 13, 2020, at Hancock State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 33. An incident report shows five other inmates were involved.
• Xaysana Thao died December 20, 2020, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Natural/Medical, age 40.
• Rashad Bolton died January 4, 2021, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 29. He died of a puncture wound to the chest; his parents filed a lawsuit claiming he was stabbed to death. The GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger records a $437,500 payout tied to Hancock.
• Dwayne Zackery died February 12, 2021, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 22. Death data state he was stabbed by his cellmate with a homemade knife.
• Michael Anthony Brown died June 26, 2021, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Natural/Medical, age 54.
• Terrill Bernard Howard died October 17, 2021, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Other, age 51.
• Charles Tristen Mckee died May 23, 2022, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 24. He was stabbed 13 times; the DOJ investigation found he jumped through stair railings trying to escape gang members and was stabbed anyway, and reporting on the case states he had asked to be moved the day before. The settlement ledger records $424,710.20 tied to Hancock.
• Antione Lamar Bush died June 18, 2022, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Natural/Medical, age 32.
• Terry Lee Bishop died October 18, 2022, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 49. Death data show blunt force trauma, with acute methamphetamine and cannabinoid toxicity.
• Zackery Phillip Brown died December 23, 2022, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Suicide, age 39.
• Norman Jackson Samples died December 27, 2022, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 59. He died of blunt force injuries to the head and torso.

Earlier Hancock settlements in the same ledger: $600,000 tied to a 2019 incident, $13,800 (2016) and $250 (2016).

Hancock State Prison — Interim Warden (July 1, 2023 – Dec. 31, 2024).

• Francisco Melgar-Saldivar died August 12, 2023, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 26. Strangulation and blunt force injuries; a claim filed against the state alleges he was not given appropriate medical care after being attacked by another prisoner.
• Timothy Dale Hicks died August 22, 2023, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Suicide, age 37.
• A 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report described violence, sexual assaults and gang-run prisons in Georgia, fueled by what it called a culture of indifference — published while Ivey was Interim Warden.
• Ralph Thompson died October 8, 2024, at Hancock State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 53.
• Travon Montrell Walthour died October 13, 2024, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 29. GDC incident report data show four other prisoners were involved.

Georgia State Prison — Warden 3 (2025). The 15 deaths in the tally are all attributed to Hancock; at Georgia State Prison the record instead carries two Atlanta Journal-Constitution allegations published Jan. 21, 2025: that officials failed to intervene and provide proper medical care to Brandon Peters, who the AJC says suffered for days from severe symptoms before dying in his cell; and that a prisoner was sexually assaulted by his cellmate, had food stolen for months, and was found severely malnourished with spinal bruising, a jaw fracture and human bite marks while staff failed to notice.

Hancock State Prison — Warden 3, entry dated Aug. 27, 2026.

Litigation

• Ballard v. Ivey, 5:24-cv-00377 (GAMD), filed Oct. 16, 2024, terminated Nov. 7, 2024; no outcome amount recorded. Filed while Ivey was Interim Warden at Hancock.
• Ballard v. Ivey, 5:25-cv-00130 (GAMD), filed April 1, 2025, terminated June 25, 2025; no outcome amount recorded.
• Garrison v. Ivey, 5:23-cv-00348 (GAMD), filed Sept. 13, 2023, terminated Feb. 12, 2025; no outcome amount recorded.
• Jones v. Holt, 5:25-cv-00271 (GAMD), filed June 25, 2025, pending.
• Spradlin v. Toby, 5:23-cv-00328 (GAMD), filed Aug. 29, 2023, pending.
• Grant v. Ward, 5:22-cv-00396 (GAMD), filed Nov. 7, 2022, terminated Aug. 28, 2025.
• Grant v. Washington, 5:21-cv-00427 (GAMD), filed Dec. 1, 2021, terminated Sept. 16, 2022.
• Tilman v. Sellers, 5:15-cv-00085 (GAMD), filed March 13, 2015, terminated Feb. 9, 2016.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Jan. 21, 2025 investigations on medical-care failures (Brandon Peters) and an assault and malnutrition case at Georgia State Prison during Ivey's 2025 tenure there.
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 report on violence, sexual assault and gang control in Georgia prisons; findings on the McKee killing.
• Georgia Department of Corrections incident report data — Walthour (2024), Pastrana (2020).
• GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) — Hancock payouts tied to Bolton, McKee, a 2019 incident, and two 2016 incidents.
• CourtListener dockets (GAMD) — eight civil cases naming Ivey.
• GPS death registry — dates, facilities, ages and cause categories for the 15 deaths listed above, including the 2021 lawsuit claim by Bolton's parents.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Nov 1, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.