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Jackson, Tarra L Tomlin
Status: active
Profile written September 6, 2026
This profile reflects positional accountability — this individual held the leadership roles shown during the dates shown, during which the listed deaths or lawsuits occurred. Inclusion does not constitute a legal finding of personal culpability for any specific incident.
Tenure Summary
Tarra L Tomlin Jackson appears in GPS salary records first as a behavioral health counselor in 2015, then as a behavioral health counselor 3 in 2016 and supervisor in 2017. From 2018 through 2020, Jackson is listed as a correctional unit manager. Beginning in 2021, Jackson became deputy warden at Washington State Prison, with annual salary records continuing through 2025. GPS records attribute 41 in-custody deaths to Jackson’s leadership tenure, all at Washington State Prison. GPS records show no deaths attributed to Jackson’s earlier behavioral health and unit manager roles. One federal case naming Jackson as a defendant appears in the provided records: Ridley v. Jackson, filed in 2022 and terminated later that year.What happened on their watch
Washington State Prison — Deputy Warden (2021–present per records)
The 41 deaths GPS records attribute to Jackson’s deputy warden tenure span from early 2022 through mid-2026. Among the 2022 deaths, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation identifies Michael Lee Jackson, 60, as dying from multiple blunt force injuries in the setting of hypertensive cardiovascular disease, and Marquis Reshawn Jefferson, 26, from stab wounds to the torso and arm. David Terry Melton, 25, died by ligature hanging, with manner listed as suicide in GBI records. GPS records also document natural deaths in 2022 — including Phillip Rutledge, 72, from respiratory failure due to COPD, and Larry Elmo Laroche, 63, from chronic liver disease due to hepatitis — while several other 2022 deaths remained undetermined. Laroche was one of seven Washington State Prison deaths named in a U.S. Department of Justice CRIPA / Eighth Amendment records request dated Nov. 16, 2023.
In 2023 and 2024, GPS records show a cluster of accidental drug-toxicity deaths, including Jimmy Lee Rucker and James Michael Jenkins from methamphetamine toxicity, Garrett Lee Bailey from methamphetamine toxicity, and Jonhtavis Jermaine Kellom from methamphetamine intoxication. Sharod Farran Johnson, 31, died of metastatic colon cancer with no autopsy performed after the GBI declined examination, according to GPS records. In April 2024, Jacob Cole Henson, 31, was fatally shot by GDC officers during a hospital transport fight; his Washington County death certificate lists manner as homicide and cause as multiple gunshot wounds, with Field 43 stating “GUNSHOT WOUNDS WHILE FIGHTING WITH PRISON GUARDS,” per GPS records. An AJC investigation also identifies Devonte Tiger Williams, 26, as dying from multiple sharp force injuries to the torso, head, and neck in August 2024.
In January 2025, Dontavious Carter died of homicide due to a puncture wound to the heart, per a GDC-released January 2025 mortality report. In June 2025, Michael Lareco Daniel, 44, died of sharp force trauma to the head, with an official death certificate on file. On Jan. 11, 2026, a disturbance at Washington State Prison killed Ahmod Dewayne Hatcher, 23; Jimmy Lee Trammell, 42; and Teddy Dewayne Jackson, 27. Prisoner and news accounts describe all three as killed during the riot; Washington County death certificates classify Teddy Jackson’s death as homicide by stab wound of the torso. Silas Westbrook, 42, injured in the same disturbance, died Jan. 17, 2026; his Washington County death certificate lists manner as homicide and cause as delayed complications of multiple sharp force injuries. GDC described the disturbance as gang-affiliated, according to WGXA and AJC reporting in GPS intel logs, and GPS intel records show twelve inmates were charged with murder and related offenses in April 2026.
Systemic findings overlap Jackson’s tenure. Multiple GPS records document that the GBI Division of Forensic Sciences declined to perform autopsies for Washington State Prison deaths, leaving cause unavailable from state forensic sources. AJC and 41NBC reporting in GPS intel records cite a 2024 DOJ finding that Georgia prison officials were “deliberately indifferent” to violence, drug use, extortion, and sexual abuse, and a January 2026 consultant study finding maintenance failures, non-working locks, and understaffing. 13WMAZ reported former inmates alleging overcrowding, chronic staffing shortages, and gang dominance at the facility.
Litigation
- Ridley v. Jackson, No. 5:22-cv-00229, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, filed June 24, 2022, terminated Oct. 13, 2022. Court records list no outcome amount.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation; reporting on the Henson shooting and January 2026 Washington State Prison riot.
- WGXA — reporting on the Ramirez contraband-cellphone drug-trafficking case and the WSP disturbance.
- 13WMAZ — former inmate accounts of conditions and charges following the riot.
- 41NBC — GDC death statements and DOJ findings.
- 11Alive / WFXL / WMAZ — riot, charges, and gang-affiliation coverage.
- CourtListener — Ridley v. Jackson docket.
- GBI Division of Forensic Sciences and Washington County coroner records obtained via GPS open records requests.
- U.S. DOJ (M.D. Ga.) CRIPA / Eighth Amendment records request, Nov. 16, 2023.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| DEPUTY WARDEN | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | 2021-01-01 → present |
| CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | 2018-01-01 → 2020-12-31 | |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR SPV | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 | |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 3 | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 | |
| BEH HEALTH/COUNSELOR (WL) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:22-cv-00229 | GAMD | 2022-06-24 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
41 people died at facilities under Jackson, Tarra L Tomlin's leadership.
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