Johnson, Aiyesha

Tenure Summary

Aiyesha Johnson's documented GDC career began in 2013 as a Correctional Officer II at Appling Integrated Treatment Facility, then moved through administrative-support and financial roles — Administrative Support I (2017), Administrative Support II at Georgia State Prison (2018), Administrative Support III (2020), Financial Operations Generalist I at Bacon Transitional Center (2021), and Financial Ops Generalist 3 back at Appling in 2023 — before Accounting Technician 3 postings in 2024 and 2025. On January 16, 2026, she moved into facility leadership as Deputy Warden of Administration at Ware State Prison, the role she held throughout the period covered here.

GPS's death registry attributes 13 deaths to her leadership tenure, all of them at Ware State Prison. Four are recorded as homicides, two as suicides, two as natural/medical, and five as unknown/pending. No lawsuits naming Johnson as a defendant appear in the records reviewed. The deaths coincide with a run of inmate and Telegram-sourced reports of gang-related stabbing violence at Ware through spring and summer 2026, a statewide lockdown report, and a GDC Office of Professional Standards homicide investigation.

What happened on their watch

Ware State Prison — Deputy Warden of Administration, from January 16, 2026. Thirteen deaths are attributed to this posting, per GPS's death registry. Carlton Atkins Jones died January 24, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 55. Christopher Henry died February 12, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 48. Cody Humphrey died February 21, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 72. Anthony Terrell Grover died May 11, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 25. Johnathan Cleo Hardman-Simmons died May 20, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 36. Justin Dean Pulley died May 20, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 48. Kojack Junior Thomas died May 31, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 27. David Randolph Newcomer died June 30, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 85. Reberto Baez died July 9, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 69. David Miller Newman died July 15, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 60. Percy Lee Burdine died August 6, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 44. David Allan Dowling died August 9, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 69. David Wayne Williams died September 13, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 57.

Reports logged against Ware during this tenure describe a violent period. A family or community member reported a stabbing at Ware with people taken to outside hospitals (April 27, 2026), and further stabbing reports followed on April 8 and April 20. A May 15 report stated five people were stabbed, injuries unknown. Reports on May 18, 21, 22 and 23 described gang-related violence, multiple stabbings and killings, an incident in which several injured people were transported to an outside hospital, and indications that Ware and other GDC facilities were on lockdown; one report said beatings were occurring but were not being counted as formal incidents. Reports of August 3 (a gang-related altercation with multiple stabbings and at least one person in serious condition) and July 10 (a guard stabbed) followed. In connection with Thomas's death, the GDC's Office of Professional Standards is leading the investigation and his body was sent to the GBI crime lab, per the records. A September 13 Telegram group report alleged that an incarcerated person at Ware died by suicide days after being placed in segregation and questioned the circumstances; a separate September 13 report relayed an incarcerated person's stated expectation of violence. A September 18 report said Ware was off lockdown. Contraband enforcement items were also logged at Ware: a July traffic stop involving items allegedly destined for the prison and a July seizure reported by the Butts County Sheriff's Office. A January 28, 2026 item attributes to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the finding that GDC publicly called the August 1, 2020 Ware incident a "disturbance" while internal records described hostage-taking, escape attempts, assaults and use of force — events that predate this tenure.

Sources

• GPS death registry — 13 deaths at Ware State Prison during the Deputy Warden of Administration tenure
• GPS case submissions (inmate reports and Telegram group reports) — stabbing, gang-violence, lockdown and segregation allegations at Ware, 2026
• GDC Office of Professional Standards — homicide investigation into Kojack Junior Thomas's death; body referred to the GBI crime lab
• Butts County Sheriff's Office — July contraband seizure and traffic stop allegedly tied to Ware State Prison
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on GDC's public characterization of the August 1, 2020 Ware State Prison incident

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.