Jones, Deshawn B

Tenure Summary

Deshawn B. Jones entered the Georgia Department of Corrections as a correctional officer at Arrendale State Prison in 2006, returned there in 2015, and moved to the Arrendale Transitional Center in 2016 as a social services program manager. He entered facility leadership as a correctional assistant superintendent in 2017, then served as superintendent of the Atlanta Transitional Center (2018) and of Rutledge State Prison (2020) before becoming warden at Rutledge (Dec. 1, 2020–June 30, 2022), at Phillips State Prison (2022 through mid-June 2024 in successive warden ranks), and — since June 16, 2024 — at Augusta State Medical Prison, where records list him as Warden 3 through 2025–26. He is listed as active with no sourced status change.

According to GPS's compilation of facility death records, 134 deaths are attributed to the periods Jones held facility-leadership roles: 109 at Augusta State Medical Prison, 22 at Phillips State Prison, and 3 at Rutledge State Prison. He is named as a defendant in five federal lawsuits filed in the Northern District of Georgia between May 2023 and March 2025; four remain pending.

What happened on their watch

Atlanta Transitional Center — Correctional Superintendent (2018). The death compilation attributes no deaths at this facility to this posting. GPS records note only the role and dates.

Rutledge State Prison — Superintendent (2020); Warden (Dec. 1, 2020–June 30, 2022); WARDEN 1 (2021). Three deaths are attributed to these postings. Named in the retained sample: Harold Edward Brown, 53 (March 5, 2021); Curtis Mincey, 74 (July 22, 2021), who per GPS records died of blunt force trauma to the head, neck, torso and extremities — his sister filed a lawsuit alleging he suffered from mental illness and did not receive appropriate medical or psychological assistance; and Boyzie Barnes, 65 (April 30, 2022). Also during this posting, officer Promise Tucker resigned in lieu of termination in 2021 after a cellphone seized from an inmate showed payments to her and she admitted smuggling tobacco since becoming a cadet 14 months earlier.

Phillips State Prison — Warden 1 (2022), Warden 2 (2023), Warden (Jan. 1–June 15, 2024). Twenty-two deaths are attributed to his Phillips postings. The retained sample is dominated by young men killed by stab wounds: Quafabian Melik McBride, 19 (Sept. 30, 2022), stabbed in the chest in the lockdown unit — the DOJ investigation found the killing triggered a gang war across multiple GDC prisons, with Bloods attacking Crips and 20 prisoners hospitalized; Jacob Kendall Daniels, 19 (Aug. 13, 2022); Sidney Sanchez Nealey, 22 (July 18, 2022); Jamal Cymonne Johnson, 32 (June 11, 2022); Alim Rasheed Lovett, 33 (Dec. 8, 2022), stabbed in the back with four other prisoners involved per the incident report; and Arthur James Wimbush Jr., 46 (April 2, 2023), who died of blunt force trauma with fracture of the thyroid cartilage. Additional named decedents include Thomas Lane Dean, 18 (April 16, 2024) and John Carlysle Neale, 86 (Feb. 27, 2024). Per court records, Leaphart v. Jones was filed against him in the Northern District of Georgia on May 17, 2023, while he held the Warden 2 post; it was terminated March 28, 2024.

Augusta State Medical Prison — Warden (June 16, 2024–present); WARDEN 3 (2024–2026). One hundred nine deaths are attributed to this posting. The retained sample runs from Aug. 2024 to Sept. 2026 and spans ages 23 to 86. AJC reporting and DOJ findings cited in GPS's records describe: Rodarick Lee Hayes, attacked on multiple occasions before his death, with a correctional officer accused of aiding the attack that led to his stabbing death; Thomas Henry Giles, left for hours in his smoke-filled cell while officers evacuated nearby inmates, his death ruled a homicide by the GBI; Eddie Gosier, killed hours after guards moved a prisoner with a history of strangulation into his cell; and Jimmy Lucero, placed in solitary without required medical checks, who fell into a catatonic state and starved. Jacobi Chomicki, 23, died May 22, 2026 with cause undetermined, his body sent to the GBI crime lab. A family member's March 2026 submission alleges medication denial or diversion, housing of vulnerable inmates with people known to have sexual assault histories, gang members functioning as de facto authority amid understaffing, removal of medically waived lower-bunk accommodations, extended lockdowns, destruction of legal property and a non-functional grievance system; separate 2026 submissions allege a stabbing of a staff officer during medication distribution, assault-related injuries among transferred-in prisoners, and refusal of catheter and feeding care to a man with severe disabilities. Federal litigation over GDC email-contact restrictions (Benning v. Oliver) and a February 2026 contempt hearing before Judge Self are recorded against Augusta during his tenure, alongside a September 2024 sentence of 240 months for an inmate who directed drug trafficking from the facility, and the Pups in the Pen dog-fostering program, which reports more than 120 adoptions.

Litigation

• Morgan v. Oliver, No. 1:25-cv-01700 (N.D. Ga.), filed March 31, 2025 — pending; Jones listed as a defendant per court records.
• Ryhme v. Georgia Department of Corrections, No. 1:24-cv-04156 (N.D. Ga.), filed Sept. 16, 2024 — pending.
• Emery v. Holt, No. 1:24-cv-03486 (N.D. Ga.), filed Aug. 6, 2024 — pending.
• Doe v. Georgia Department of Corrections, No. 1:23-cv-05578 (N.D. Ga.), filed Dec. 6, 2023 — pending.
• Leaphart v. Jones, No. 1:23-cv-02227 (N.D. Ga.), filed May 17, 2023 — terminated March 28, 2024; no outcome amount recorded.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — GA prison homicides list and "prison system failures" investigations (Hayes, Giles, Gosier, Lucero); Feb. 2026 report on federal judge's contempt findings; two-year GDC corruption/understaffing investigation.
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 findings on violence, sexual assault and gang-run prisons; finding that Rodarick Lee Hayes was attacked multiple times before his death.
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia — dockets for the five cases above (via CourtListener).
• GPS case submissions — family and witness allegations at Augusta State Medical Prison (2026); Rutledge contraband case (2021); Mincey family lawsuit (2021).
• Georgia Department of Corrections, Office of Professional Standards — standard-procedure death investigations at Augusta (2026).

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Sep 23, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.