Johnson, Edwina L

Tenure Summary

Edwina L. Johnson has worked within the Georgia Department of Corrections since at least 2000, rising from Counselor at Smith State Prison through Chief Counselor and Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment at Ware State Prison, and holding the Deputy Warden title there continuously from 2016 through 2020. GPS records show eight deaths attributed to Ware State Prison during Johnson's tenure as Deputy Warden in 2020 alone — two classified as homicides and six in a cause category consistent with illness or natural causes — alongside three federal civil rights lawsuits in which Johnson is named as a defendant. The AJC's Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation documented that ten inmates were killed at Ware State Prison between July 2020 and August 2024, a period that overlaps Johnson's deputy-warden posting at its outset.

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What Happened on Their Watch

Ware State Prison — Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment (2012) / Deputy Warden (2016–2020)

Johnson held facility-deputy-level roles at Ware State Prison across multiple years. GPS records attribute eight deaths to the facility during her 2020 Deputy Warden posting. Two were classified as homicides: Robert Lee Wilson (age 31) died July 17, 2020, from multiple stab wounds, per the AJC Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation; Christopher Rawls (age 32) died September 5, 2020, from strangulation, also per the AJC investigation. The remaining six deaths — James Franklin Conkle (age 71, May 19), Verlin Edward Spivey (age 64, May 13), Jimmy Kelly (age 72, April 1), Steve Purcell Jones (age 44, July 20), Tony Jackson (age 68, July 26), and Trent Lorenzo Sr. Veal (age 51, August 20) — carry a cause category code consistent with illness or natural causes; no additional notes are recorded for those six in GPS records. The AJC separately reported, as an allegation, that ten inmates were killed at Ware State Prison between July 2020 and August 2024, with multiple inmates involved in several homicides according to GDC incident reports. Also per the AJC, the GDC publicly described an August 1, 2020, incident at Ware State Prison as merely a "disturbance," while internal records allegedly describe it as involving hostage-taking, escape attempts, assaults, and use of force — an event that fell within Johnson's Deputy Warden tenure. A GPS relay-detected allegation (April 2026) notes a stabbing at Ware State Prison, though Johnson's role there had ended by that point.

Coffee Correctional Facility — Sr. Manager, Correctional Admin (2021)

GPS records place Johnson at Coffee Correctional Facility in 2021. The AJC reported that a former correctional officer at that facility, Dacia Gaskins, was indicted for conspiring to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone, and marijuana as part of a drug-trafficking operation. Separately, the AJC's Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation notes that an incident report indicates four other inmates were involved in the stabbing death of Kendall Ja'Mal Cromer at Coffee Correctional Facility, though no date is specified in the GPS record. GPS records do not establish Johnson's direct involvement in either matter.

Central/Unassigned — Sr. Manager, Correctional Admin (2022–2025); Regional Operations Coordinator, Jenkins Facility (July 2025–present)

From 2022 onward, GPS records show Johnson in a Senior Manager, Correctional Administration role without a facility assignment, earning between $73,144 and $83,214 annually. As of July 16, 2025, she holds the title of Regional Operations Coordinator at Jenkins Facility. A GPS relay-detected allegation (April 2026) notes that an older Hispanic inmate was found unconscious in his cell at Jenkins Facility during what appears to be a welfare check; no further details are available in GPS records.

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Litigation

• Slaughter v. Gramiak, No. 5:15-cv-00090 (U.S. District Court, S.D. Ga.), filed November 17, 2015; terminated February 11, 2022. No outcome amount recorded. Per court records.
• Gandy v. Bryson, No. 5:16-cv-00044 (U.S. District Court, S.D. Ga.), filed June 9, 2016; terminated April 5, 2019. No outcome amount recorded. Per court records.
• Smith v. Ward, No. 1:19-cv-03871 (U.S. District Court, N.D. Ga.), filed August 12, 2019; terminated June 7, 2023. No outcome amount recorded. Per court records.

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Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation (homicide cause-of-death data for Rawls and Wilson at Ware State Prison; ten-inmate homicide count at Ware 2020–2024; Ware "disturbance" transparency reporting; Coffee Correctional Facility stabbing of Cromer; Gaskins indictment at Coffee)
• CourtListener / PACER — Slaughter v. Gramiak (5:15-cv-00090, GASD); Gandy v. Bryson (5:16-cv-00044, GASD); Smith v. Ward (1:19-cv-03871, GAND)
• GPS records — deaths-during-tenure table; positions table; relay-bot incident detections at Ware State Prison and Jenkins Facility (April 2026)

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 6, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.