Jones, Deshawn B

Tenure Summary

Deshawn B. Jones began his GDC career as a correctional officer at Arrendale State Prison in 2006, rose through supervisory and administrative ranks, and has held facility-lead positions continuously since 2018. His career arc moved from Atlanta Transitional Center (2018) to Rutledge State Prison (2020–2021) to Phillips State Prison (2022–2023) before his current posting as Warden at Augusta State Medical Prison (ASMP), where he has served since June 16, 2024. GPS records show approximately 100 distinct deaths attributed to facilities during Jones's leadership tenures across all postings, with the large majority occurring at ASMP under cause category 6 (unspecified/pending classification). Ten federal civil lawsuits have been filed in the Northern District of Georgia naming Jones or facilities under his command; all remain pending or were terminated without a recorded settlement.

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What Happened on Their Watch

Rutledge State Prison — Correctional Superintendent / Warden 1 (2020–2021)

Jones held the facility-lead role at Rutledge during a period that GPS records and AJC reporting associate with at least two documented violent deaths. Curtis Mincey, 74, died July 22, 2021 from blunt force trauma to the head, neck, torso, and extremities, per GPS records. A lawsuit filed by Mincey's sister alleges, according to the AJC, that he suffered from mental illness and did not receive appropriate medical or psychological assistance. Daniel Tyler Nichols, 26, died April 23, 2023 from asphyxia due to neck compression at Rutledge — after Jones had departed, but the facility's record during his tenure also includes a 2021 arrest of officer Promise Tucker, who admitted to smuggling tobacco and contraband, resigning in lieu of termination, per GPS records. A separate AJC report alleges that Sergeant Erika Shonquandria Hall provided prisoners with cellphones, chargers, tobacco, and food in exchange for money on at least six occasions at Rutledge, though the precise dates of that conduct relative to Jones's tenure are not specified in the source.

Phillips State Prison — Warden 1 / Warden 2 (2022–2023)

Jones served as Warden at Phillips during a period of documented lethal violence. GPS records show multiple homicides at the facility during his tenure, including: Alim Rasheed Lovett, 33, who died December 8, 2022 from stab wounds to the back injuring the right lung, with four other prisoners involved; Jacob Kendall Daniels, 19, who died August 13, 2022 from a stab wound to the neck; Jamal Cymonne Johnson, 32, who died June 11, 2022 from stab wounds to the head; Sidney Sanchez Nealey, 22, who died July 18, 2022 from stab wounds to the torso; and Arthur James Wimbush Jr., 46, who died April 2, 2023 from blunt force trauma with fracture of the thyroid cartilage. The most significant incident during Jones's Phillips tenure was the September 30, 2022 death of Quafabian Melik McBride, 19, from stab wounds to the chest injuring the heart. Per GPS records, the DOJ found that McBride's killing triggered a gang war across multiple GDC prisons, with Bloods attacking Crips over several days and 20 prisoners hospitalized. According to the AJC, officers allegedly arranged for McBride to be brought to the lockdown unit on the day he was killed. Dave Stone, 61, died November 20, 2021 from closed head trauma; his sister told the AJC he was in a mental health ward when he was assaulted, apparently with two pipes wrapped in a cloth, before being taken off life support — though that death predates Jones's arrival at Phillips. David Fambro, 69, died July 24, 2024 from complications of facial fractures, per GPS records, after Jones had transferred to ASMP.

Augusta State Medical Prison — Warden 3 (June 16, 2024–present)

Jones has held the Warden role at ASMP — Georgia's primary medical prison — since June 16, 2024. GPS records show more than 80 deaths attributed to the facility during his tenure through April 2026, the overwhelming majority classified under cause category 6. The population skews older: multiple decedents were in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and one was 90, consistent with ASMP's medical mission, though GPS records also document deaths of individuals in their late 20s and 30s. Documented exceptions to the unspecified cause category include: Kendius Hill, who died January 9, 2025, listed as homicide with anoxic brain injury and septic shock; Stephen Prochaska, who died January 21, 2025 by hanging (suicide); Marty Reeves, who died January 13, 2025 from cardiopulmonary arrest, COPD, and metastatic pancreatic cancer (natural causes); Sidney Dorsey, 86, who died March 2, 2026 of natural causes; and Jerry Wayne Merritt, 59, who died January 20, 2026. A GPS user report alleges Merritt was stabbed in the chest and shoulder with a sharpened object by another prisoner, John Jaquis Trimer, who is accused of the killing. Rodarick Lee Hayes, 29, died May 25, 2024 — days before Jones's formal start date — from sharp force injury of the torso; per GPS records, two prisoners and a correctional officer have been charged with murder, with the officer accused of aiding in the attack. The AJC alleges the DOJ investigation found Hayes had been attacked on multiple occasions before his death, suggesting a failure to protect him. Lamar Wesson Phillips, 39, died June 8, 2024, with GPS records classifying the death as a murder involving an inmate-to-inmate assault. Thomas Preston Johnson, 56, died April 12, 2024, with GPS records classifying the death as a homicide. The AJC further alleges that Thomas Henry Giles was left in his smoke-filled cell for hours while officers evacuated nearby inmates, resulting in his death from smoke inhalation, ruled a homicide by the GBI; that Jimmy Lucero was placed in solitary confinement without required medical checks and fell into a catatonic state and starved; and that guards moved a prisoner with a violent history of strangulation into Eddie Gosier's cell, leading to Gosier's murder hours later. GPS relay reports (unattributed to a named publication) allege a stabbing in the eye in D building, a severe beating, and the arrival of four prisoners with wired-shut jaws during April 2026. A family member of Dequan Osborne, 33, who died February 17, 2026, alleged per a GPS user report that the prison did not inform the family until after Osborne was taken off life support. Broader systemic context during Jones's ASMP tenure includes: a November 2024 federal court order in Benning v. Oliver declaring GDC's email-contact restriction a First Amendment violation; GDC's subsequent failure to comply with that order; a February 2026 contempt hearing at which Judge Self summoned GDC Commissioner Tyrone Oliver and stated it was "shocking" and "unbelievable" that GDC acted as if it were "above the law," per the AJC; and a 2024 DOJ report describing, per the AJC, horrific violence, sexual assaults, and gang-run prisons within GDC enabled by a culture of indifference.

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Litigation

• Leaphart v. Jones, No. 1:23-cv-02227 (N.D. Ga.), filed May 17, 2023; terminated March 28, 2024; no recorded outcome amount.
• Doe v. Georgia Department of Corrections, No. 1:23-cv-05578 (N.D. Ga.), filed December 6, 2023; pending.
• Emery v. Holt, No. 1:24-cv-03486 (N.D. Ga.), filed August 6, 2024; pending.
• Ryhme v. Georgia Department of Corrections, No. 1:24-cv-04156 (N.D. Ga.), filed September 16, 2024; pending.
• Graham v. Jones, No. 1:24-cv-05022 (N.D. Ga.), filed November 1, 2024; pending.
• Keys v. Jones, No. 1:25-cv-00570 (N.D. Ga.), filed February 6, 2025; pending.
• Morgan v. Oliver, No. 1:25-cv-01700 (N.D. Ga.), filed March 31, 2025; pending.
• Williams v. Jones, No. 1:25-cv-05570 (N.D. Ga.), filed September 29, 2025; pending.
• Naji v. Jones, No. 1:25-cv-07468 (N.D. Ga.), filed December 31, 2025; pending.
• In Re Paragard IUD Products Liability Litigation, No. 1:20-md-02974 (N.D. Ga.), filed December 16, 2020; pending. (Note: GPS records list Jones as a defendant in this MDL; the connection to his GDC role is not specified in the source data.)

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Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — investigative reporting on GDC homicides, Phillips State Prison gang violence, Augusta State Medical Prison deaths (Gosier, Giles, Hayes, Lucero), Rutledge contraband allegations, and federal court contempt proceedings (Benning v. Oliver)
• GPS Records / GPS Intelligence Database — deaths-during-tenure data, position and salary records, intel reports, and user-submitted incident reports for Rutledge State Prison, Phillips State Prison, and Augusta State Medical Prison
• Court Records (CourtListener / PACER) — ten civil cases filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia naming Jones or GDC as defendants
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 report on GDC violence, sexual assaults, and gang-run prisons (referenced via AJC reporting and GPS intel events)
• GPS Relay Bot / Telegram relay — unattributed incident reports flagged at Augusta State Medical Prison, April 2026

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 10, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.