Jackson, Tarra L Tomlin

Tenure Summary

Tarra L Tomlin Jackson began Georgia Department of Corrections service in 2015 as a behavioral-health counselor, advancing through supervisory counseling roles before moving into custody operations as a Correctional Unit Manager from 2018 through 2020. In 2021, Jackson was appointed Deputy Warden at Washington State Prison in Davisboro — a position with facility-level accountability that Jackson has held continuously since, with the official salary record extending through the end of 2025 and an active employment status as of mid‑2026. During this leadership tenure, GPS records attribute 40 deaths to Washington State Prison, making it one of the deadliest single-facility tenures documented by the project. One lawsuit, Ridley v. Jackson, was filed against Jackson in 2022 and terminated that same year; no settlement amount has been disclosed.

What happened on their watch

Jackson’s deputy warden tenure at Washington State Prison spans from January 2021 to the present, during which the facility recorded 40 deaths. The earliest attributed death in the record is David Terry Melton (age 25, undetermined cause) on January 5, 2022, and the deaths continue through June 2026 with Courtney Davis and Isreal Moses Jones, both under GDC investigation at the time of this profile. The raw tally includes numerous homicides and a catastrophic mass-violence event. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Devonte Tiger Williams (August 9, 2024) died of multiple sharp force injuries; Jacob Cole Henson (April 23, 2024) was fatally shot by a GDC officer during a hospital transport, per an AJC investigation; Michael Lee Jackson (August 17, 2022) suffered multiple blunt force injuries; and Marquis Reshawn Jefferson (May 11, 2022) died of stab wounds. The GPS homicide list includes Dontavious Carter (January 7, 2025, puncture wound to the heart) and Michael Lareco Daniel (June 20, 2025, homicide). In 2026, the facility experienced a gang-affiliated prison riot on January 11 that killed three men — Teddy Dewayne Jackson (27), Ahmod Dewayne Hatcher (23), and Jimmy Lee Trammell (42) — and fatally wounded a fourth, Silas Rodrigiouz Westbrook (42), who died six days later after a transfer; a dozen inmates were subsequently charged with felony murder and gang-related offenses. Additional deaths later in 2026, including Isreal Moses Jones (homicide per a confidential-source account) and Deshawn Poole (allegations of delayed staff response), remain under active investigation by GDC’s Office of Professional Standards.

Systemic findings and public allegations underscore the context of these deaths. The U.S. Department of Justice’s 2024 investigation found Georgia prison officials “deliberately indifferent” to unchecked violence, drug trafficking, and sexual abuse. News reports and a consultant study commissioned by Governor Kemp in 2024 cited maintenance failures that allowed prisoners to fashion weapons, malfunctioning cell-door locks, and extreme understaffing that left housing units unmonitored. Former inmates interviewed by 13WMAZ alleged that gangs dominated daily life, robberies and stabbings were routine, and staff rarely intervened even in life‑threatening situations. WGXA reported that inmate Luis Alfonso Ramirez directed a drug distribution network from Washington State Prison using contraband cellphones, an operation that federal investigators linked to the seizure of 35 kilograms of methamphetamine and 3.5 kilograms of fentanyl. A family member complained to GPS that legal mail was withheld beyond the time allowed by GDC policy, and another asserted the prison remained on continuous lockdown for approximately 50 days after the January 2026 riot. Against this backdrop, the single lawsuit naming Jackson, Ridley v. Jackson, was filed in the Middle District of Georgia in June 2022 and terminated in October 2022 without a reported payout, though its allegations are not detailed in the available records.

Litigation

• Ridley v. Jackson, No. 5:22‑cv‑00229 (M.D. Ga.), filed June 24, 2022, terminated October 13, 2022; status terminated, no settlement amount reported. (GPS records cite the CourtListener docket.)

Sources

• GPS structured death records — 40 deaths attributed to Washington State Prison during Deputy Warden Tarra L Tomlin Jackson’s tenure, including named decedents Teddie Jackson, Ahmod Hatcher, Jimmy Trammell, Silas Westbrook, Devonte Williams, Jacob Henson, Michael Jackson, Marquis Jefferson, Dontavious Carter, Michael Daniel, Isreal Jones, Courtney Davis, Deshawn Poole, and others.
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — investigations into Georgia prison homicides, including cause‑of‑death details for Williams, Henson, Michael Jackson, and Jefferson; reporting on the 2024 DOJ findings, understaffing, broken locks, and weapons fabrication; and coverage of the January 2026 riot and subsequent charges.
• Department of Justice — 2024 investigative findings describing deliberate indifference to violence, sexual assaults, and gang control of prison black markets.
• 13WMAZ — former‑inmate allegations of chronic understaffing, gang dominance, and abandonment; reporting on charges against twelve inmates for the riot.
• WGXA — allegations that inmate Luis Alfonso Ramirez ran a drug trafficking network from Washington State Prison; reporting on family demands for accountability after Jimmy Trammell’s death.
• 41NBC — coverage of GDC’s characterization of the disturbance as gang‑affiliated; DOJ findings on violence, drugs, and extortion.
• WFXL — report that twelve inmates were charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, and gang participation in the January 2026 incident.
• Governor Kemp’s 2024 consultant study (cited in AJC and 13WMAZ) — findings of maintenance failures, broken locks, and understaffing.
• Court docket: Ridley v. Jackson, GAMD case 5:22‑cv‑00229 (via CourtListener).
• GDC press statements and news releases (as referenced in local news reports) on the deaths of Jones, Davis, and the January riot.
• GBI Crime Lab autopsy records and GBI ORR R007996 inquiry (tied to unknown‑cause Washington State Prison deaths).

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Jun 21, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.