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Jackson, Tarra L Tomlin
Status: active
Profile written July 12, 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 began her career with the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2015 as a behavioral health counselor and advanced through correctional unit manager roles before being appointed Deputy Warden of Washington State Prison in 2021. GPS records attribute 41 deaths to the facility during her leadership tenure there. The deaths span from at least early 2022 through mid-2026 and include multiple homicides, a staff-involved shooting, deaths from a mass gang-related riot, and a run of fatalities that became the focus of a U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation. A federal lawsuit, Ridley v. Jackson, was filed against Jackson in 2022. The January 2026 riot—in which three men were killed and a fourth later died of injuries—drew national scrutiny to conditions at the prison and led to the indictment of twelve incarcerated people on murder and gang charges.What happened on their watch
Deputy Warden – Washington State Prison (2021–at least 2026)
Jackson held the deputy warden role at Washington State Prison, a medium-security facility in Davisboro, when at least 41 people died in custody. GPS death records show the facility’s fatalities were heavily concentrated in categories of homicide (multiple stabbings and blunt-force injuries), drug toxicity, and a staff-involved killing. In April 2024, Jacob Henson was shot and killed by a GDC officer during a fight while being transported for medical treatment; his death certificate, obtained by GPS from the Washington County Coroner, lists the cause as multiple gunshot wounds with the injury description “gunshot wounds while fighting with prison guards.”
The most lethal single event occurred on January 11, 2026. A gang-affiliated riot that began around 1:25 p.m. and was brought under control by 3 p.m. left three men dead: Teddy Jackson (27, stabbed in the torso), Ahmod Hatcher (23, sharp force injuries), and Jimmy Trammell (42, multiple wounds). Silas Westbrook (42) died six days later from stab wounds sustained in the same riot; his Washington County death certificate confirms homicide due to delayed complications of multiple sharp force injuries. Twelve incarcerated individuals were later charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, and gang participation.
The preceding years had a steady toll. Death records documented homicides: Michael Jackson (60) died of multiple blunt force injuries in August 2022; Marquis Jefferson (26) was stabbed in May 2022; Devonte Williams (26) died of multiple sharp force injuries to the head, neck, and torso in August 2024; Dontavious Carter was killed by a puncture wound to the heart in January 2025; and Michael Daniel (44) died of sharp force trauma to the head in June 2025 after being “assaulted by other,” per his death certificate. Isreal Moses Jones (late 60s) was killed in June 2026 in what a confidential source described as a retaliation killing; his death was initially listed as undetermined but later classified as homicide by GPS based on a direct account and news reports. Courtney Davis died the same weekend; the cause is pending a GBI autopsy.
Several deaths triggered scrutiny from outside agencies. In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division sent a CRIPA records request to the Washington County coroner for the files of seven Washington State Prison deaths, a move that signaled a federal investigation into conditions and potential Eighth Amendment violations. A 2024 DOJ report, cited by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, described a “deliberately indifferent” culture in Georgia prisons that allowed unchecked violence, sexual assaults, and gang-run black markets. A state consultant’s study commissioned by Governor Kemp found that maintenance failures allowed incarcerated people to fashion weapons, broken locks permitted cell breakouts, and severe understaffing left areas unsupervised—patterns that intel reports from former inmates at Washington State Prison directly tied to the deadly riot. One former prisoner told 13WMAZ that the facility was “dangerous,” with gangs robbing and stabbing people daily, and that “no staff come to help even in life-or-death situations.”
Contraband cellphones at the prison also enabled external criminal activity. A federal investigation indicted inmate Luis Alfonso Ramirez and six others in May 2026 for a drug trafficking conspiracy that operated from inside Washington State Prison; authorities seized 35 kilograms of methamphetamine, 3.5 kilograms of fentanyl, and $145,000 in cash.
Additionally, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s handling of Washington State Prison deaths came under question. GPS open-records requests found that in at least two natural-cause fatalities—Benjamin Horne (51) in 2025 and Wayne Krier (77) in 2025—the GBI medical examiner did not perform autopsies, instead issuing a records-review sign-out, a pattern observed across multiple GDC death investigations.
Litigation
- Ridley v. Jackson, No. 5:22-cv-00229 (M.D. Ga., filed June 24, 2022, terminated Oct. 13, 2022). The case named Deputy Warden Jackson as a defendant; no settlement amount is recorded. The suit was filed while Jackson held the deputy warden post at Washington State Prison.
Sources
- GPS records – deaths during tenure, facility assignments, lawsuit data
- Washington County Coroner death certificates – Henson (SF# 2024GA000034743), Westbrook (SF# 2026GA000013243), Jackson (SF# 2026GA000013147), Daniel (SF# 2025GA000058042), and multiple others obtained via public records production
- GBI DOFS forensic examination reports (via GovQA open records requests) – Horne, Krier
- U.S. Department of Justice, Middle District of Georgia, CRIPA records request to Washington County Coroner (Nov. 16, 2023)
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution – homicide investigation data, riot coverage, DOJ report findings, consultant study citations
- 13WMAZ – former inmate interviews, gang disturbance details, conditions claims
- 41NBC, WGXA, WFXL, 11Alive – Washington State Prison riot and related prison condition allegations
- Federal court docket, Ridley v. Jackson (CourtListener)
- GPS intel case submissions – witness and family reports on conditions, deaths, and lockdown
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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