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Johnson, Edwina L
Status: active
Profile written July 5, 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 began her career with the Georgia Department of Corrections as a Counselor at Smith State Prison in 2000. She advanced to Chief Counselor and later Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment at Ware State Prison, then served as a Deputy Warden at the same facility continuously from 2016 through 2020. GPS records show that during her tenure in this leadership role at Ware State Prison, eight incarcerated people died. All eight deaths occurred in 2020, a period marked by a COVID‑19 outbreak and multiple violent incidents at the prison. After leaving Ware, Johnson held several senior management positions and, as of mid‑2025, was a Regional Operations Coordinator at Jenkins Facility. No deaths have been attributed to any other facility‑level positions she has held.What happened on her watch
Johnson’s years as Deputy Warden at Ware State Prison (2016–2020) placed her inside a facility struggling with lethal violence and a pandemic. The eight deaths recorded under her watch all took place between April and September of 2020. According to Ware County Coroner reports and GBI records cited by GPS, two of those deaths were ruled homicides: Christopher Rawls, 32, died of strangulation on September 5, and Robert Lee Wilson, 31, died of multiple stab wounds on July 17. Coroner records also confirm that Tony Jackson, 68, and Steve Purcell Jones, 44, died from COVID‑19, while Jimmy Kelly, 72, died of metastatic stomach cancer, and Verlin Edward Spivey, 64, died of acute respiratory failure due to pneumonia. The causes of death for Trent Lorenzo Veal Sr., 51, and James Franklin Conkle, 71, could not be classified by the county coroner because their death certificates were not within the coroner’s jurisdiction.The same summer, on August 1, 2020, Ware State Prison experienced a major disturbance. The Georgia Department of Corrections publicly described it as a mere “disturbance,” but internal records obtained by the Atlanta Journal‑Constitution revealed the incident involved hostage‑taking, escape attempts, assaults, and the use of force. The AJC later documented that ten incarcerated people were killed at Ware State Prison between July 2020 and August 2024, with multiple inmates implicated in several of the homicides. Johnson’s tenure as Deputy Warden coincided with the first cluster of those killings.
Litigation
Johnson is named as a defendant in three federal lawsuits, all of which have been terminated:- Gandy v. Bryson, No. 5:16‑cv‑00044 (S.D. Ga.), filed June 9, 2016, terminated April 5, 2019.
- Smith v. Ward, No. 1:19‑cv‑03871 (N.D. Ga.), filed August 12, 2019, terminated June 7, 2023.
- Slaughter v. Gramiak, No. 5:15‑cv‑00090 (S.D. Ga.), filed November 17, 2015, terminated February 11, 2022.
The specific allegations against Johnson in these suits are not detailed in available GPS records.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — reporting on inmate killings at Ware State Prison and the August 2020 disturbance, including internal GDC records.
- Ware County Coroner / GBI DOFS records (GPS ORR conversion dee3f317) — cause‑of‑death determinations for Christopher Rawls, Robert Lee Wilson, Tony Jackson, Steve Purcell Jones, Verlin Edward Spivey, and Jimmy Kelly.
- GPS records — decedent counts, position history, and lawsuit dockets.
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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