Jackson, Tracey Catina

Tenure Summary

Tracey Catina Jackson began her career with the Georgia Department of Corrections as a part-time instructor at Pulaski State Prison in 2013, then moved through a series of behavioral health counselor positions, rising to Behavioral Health Counselor Supervisor. By 2020, she was assigned to Dooly State Prison in that supervisory role. On March 16, 2026, Jackson stepped into a facility‑deputy leadership post as Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment at Wilcox State Prison, a position she holds as of the latest records.

GPS records attribute one death to Jackson’s leadership tenure — that of Earnest Sims, age 44, at Wilcox State Prison on the very day she assumed the deputy warden role. No lawsuits naming Jackson as a defendant were found.

What happened on their watch

Wilcox State Prison — Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment (March 16, 2026 – present)
On March 16, 2026, the day Jackson began her tenure, 44‑year‑old Earnest Sims died at the facility. The death is recorded under cause category 6; no additional detail is publicly available. No other deaths attributable to her leadership post have been recorded through the current date.

Intelligence reports gathered during Jackson’s time at Wilcox highlight a facility under strain. In May 2026, the Atlanta Journal‑Constitution reported that the U.S. Department of Justice had found Georgia’s prisons to be gang‑run and rife with violence and sexual assault; the same coverage resurfaced a family’s allegation that a 2025 homicide victim, Dominique Cole, had told relatives that guards at Wilcox were tied to gangs. A separate AJC report from the period claimed that officials at Wilcox failed to recognize the mental‑health needs of James Wheeler, a prisoner with a history of self‑harm who was placed in solitary confinement and died by hanging — an allegation that directly implicates the care and treatment functions of the prison.

A public Facebook post in mid‑May 2026 alleged that Warden Micheal Thomas regularly locked down inmate movement so that senior staff — the deputy warden, the deputy warden of administration, and the deputy warden of care and treatment — could hold on‑clock gatherings on state property. The same post claimed that basic supplies (toothbrushes, undergarments, socks, towels, sheets, blankets) had gone largely unissued for about a year, and that new uniforms were provided instead, leading to speculation about whether staff events were funded from the inmate benefit fund. GPS records take no position on the veracity of these claims; they are presented solely as contemporaneous allegations that surfaced during Jackson’s tenure.

Litigation

No lawsuits naming Jackson as a defendant were identified.

Sources

• GPS personnel and death records — position history, death count, and death of Earnest Sims at Wilcox State Prison.
• Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — reporting on DOJ findings of gang‑run Georgia prisons, James Wheeler’s death, and Dominique Cole’s family allegations regarding Wilcox State Prison.
• Facebook (public post) — allegation of lockdowns for staff gatherings and supply shortages at Wilcox State Prison, mentioning the deputy warden of care and treatment.

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.