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Johnson, Edwina L
Status: active
Profile written June 7, 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
Edwina L. Johnson’s career with the Georgia Department of Corrections spans more than two decades, beginning as a counselor at Smith State Prison and progressing through chief counselor and deputy warden roles to senior management. GPS records attribute a total of eight deaths to facilities where Johnson held a leadership-tier position—all of them at Ware State Prison during her years as a deputy warden. Three federal lawsuits in which Johnson was named as a defendant were filed while she served in leadership roles; all were terminated without a disclosed monetary settlement. The deaths cluster entirely in 2020, a year that also saw a violent mass incident at Ware State Prison that drew public scrutiny over the department’s transparency.What happened on their watch
Ware State Prison — Deputy Warden (2016–2020)
Johnson served as deputy warden at Ware State Prison for five calendar years, from January 2016 through the end of 2020. In that span, eight people died inside the facility, all during 2020. Two of those deaths were homicides: Robert Lee Wilson, 31, died on July 17, 2020, of multiple stab wounds, and Christopher Rawls, 32, died on September 5, 2020, by strangulation, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation into Georgia prison homicides. The remaining six decedents—Jimmy Kelly (72), Verlin Edward Spivey (64), James Franklin Conkle (71), Steve Purcell Jones (44), Tony Jackson (68), and Trent Lorenzo Veal Sr. (51)—were recorded under a cause category typically associated with non‑homicide deaths; their exact causes are not detailed in GPS records.
The same year, an August 1, 2020, incident at Ware drew criticism after the GDC publicly described it as a “disturbance,” while internal records obtained by the AJC showed it involved hostage‑taking, escape attempts, assaults, and use of force. That episode, along with the homicides, fed a broader pattern of violence at Ware documented by the AJC: ten inmates were killed at the facility between July 2020 and August 2024. Though Johnson’s tenure ended before the later deaths, the homicides and the discord in 2020 occurred under her watch as a facility deputy.
No deaths are attributed to Johnson’s earlier tenure as Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment at Ware in 2012, nor to her subsequent roles as Senior Manager of Correctional Administration at Coffee Correctional Facility (2021), in central‑office posts (2022–2025), or as Regional Operations Coordinator at Jenkins Facility (2025–present).
Litigation
- Smith v. Ward, No. 1:19‑cv‑03871 (N.D. Ga.), filed August 12, 2019; terminated June 7, 2023. Johnson was among the defendants. No settlement amount disclosed.
- Gandy v. Bryson, No. 5:16‑cv‑00044 (S.D. Ga.), filed June 9, 2016; terminated April 5, 2019. Johnson was named as a defendant while serving as deputy warden at Ware.
- Slaughter v. Gramiak, No. 5:15‑cv‑00090 (S.D. Ga.), filed November 17, 2015; terminated February 11, 2022. Johnson was a defendant; the case ended without a recorded payout.
Sources
- GPS records — personnel positions, death counts, and decedent details for Ware State Prison (2020)
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — homicide investigation identifying strangulation and stab‑wound deaths of Christopher Rawls and Robert Lee Wilson; reporting on the August 1, 2020 Ware incident and the public/private discrepancy
- CourtListener dockets — Smith v. Ward, Gandy v. Bryson, Slaughter v. Gramiak (filing dates, courts, termination status)
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Regional Operations Coordinator | JENKINS FACILITY | 2025-07-16 → present |
| SR MGR, CORRECTIONAL ADMIN | 2022-01-01 → present | |
| SR MGR, CORRECTIONAL ADMIN | COFFEE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY | 2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | WARE STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2020-12-31 |
| CORRECTION ADMINISTRATION | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 | |
| Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment | WARE STATE PRISON | 2012-01-01 → 2012-12-31 |
| Chief Counselor | WARE STATE PRISON | 2011-01-01 → 2011-12-31 |
| Counselor | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2000-01-01 → 2000-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:19-cv-03871 | GAND | 2019-08-12 | terminated |
| 5:16-cv-00044 | GASD | 2016-06-09 | terminated |
| 5:15-cv-00090 | GASD | 2015-11-17 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
8 people died at facilities under Johnson, Edwina L's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-09-05 | CHRISTOPHER RAWLS | 32 | WARE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2020-08-20 | TRENT LORENZO SR VEAL | 51 | WARE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2020-07-26 | TONY JACKSON | 68 | WARE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2020-07-20 | STEVE PURCELL JONES | 44 | WARE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2020-07-17 | ROBERT LEE WILSON | 31 | WARE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2020-05-19 | JAMES FRANKLIN CONKLE | 71 | WARE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2020-05-13 | VERLIN EDWARD SPIVEY | 64 | WARE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
| 2020-04-01 | JIMMY KELLY | 72 | WARE STATE PRISON | DEPUTY WARDEN |
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