Jones, Deshawn B

Tenure Summary

Deshawn B. Jones entered the Georgia Department of Corrections as a correctional officer at Arrendale State Prison, where payroll records place him in 2006 and again in 2015, before moving into program management at Arrendale Transitional Center in 2016 and into facility leadership as a correctional assistant superintendent in 2017. He served as correctional superintendent at Atlanta Transitional Center in 2018, then at Rutledge State Prison in 2020, where he became warden on December 1, 2020 and held that post until June 30, 2022. From 2022 he carried warden titles at Phillips State Prison and, from June 16, 2024, at Augusta State Medical Prison, where the records list him as warden with no end date and as WARDEN 3 through 2025 and 2026. His status is recorded as active.

GPS's tally of deaths recorded at facilities during his leadership tenure totals 138: 113 at Augusta State Medical Prison, 22 at Phillips State Prison and 3 at Rutledge State Prison. He is listed as a defendant in five federal civil actions filed between May 2023 and March 2025; one has been terminated and four remain pending, with no settlement amounts recorded.

What happened on their watch

Rutledge State Prison — Warden, December 1, 2020 to June 30, 2022 (also WARDEN 1, 2021). Three deaths are recorded at the facility during this tenure: Harold Edward Brown died March 5, 2021; Curtis Mincey died July 22, 2021; and Boyzie Barnes died April 30, 2022. Facility event records list blunt force trauma to the head, neck, torso and extremities in Mincey's death, and note that his sister filed a lawsuit alleging he suffered from mental illness and did not receive appropriate medical or psychological assistance — an allegation, not an adjudicated finding. Separately, records show officer Promise Tucker resigned in lieu of termination in 2021 after admitting she had smuggled tobacco since becoming a cadet 14 months earlier, after a cellphone seized from an incarcerated person showed payments to her.

Phillips State Prison — WARDEN 1 (2022), WARDEN 2 (2023), Warden through June 15, 2024. Twenty-two deaths are attributed to Phillips during his tenure. Recorded deaths include Jamal Cymonne Johnson (died June 11, 2022, stab wounds to the head injuring the brain), Sidney Sanchez Nealey (died July 18, 2022, age 22, stab wounds to the torso), Jacob Kendall Daniels (died August 13, 2022, age 18–19 per facility records, stab wounds to the neck, shoulder and arm), Quafabian Melik McBride (died September 30, 2022, age 19, stab wounds to the chest in the lockdown unit; event records state he had been brought to lockdown that day through the arrangements of officers), Alim Rasheed Lovett (died December 8, 2022, age 33, stab wounds to the back injuring the right lung, with four other prisoners involved per the incident report) and Arthur James Wimbush Jr. (died April 2, 2023, age 46, blunt force trauma with fracture of the thyroid cartilage). Per the DOJ investigation as reported by the AJC, McBride's killing triggered a gang war across multiple GDC prisons in which Bloods attacked Crips over several days and 20 prisoners were hospitalized. Deaths continue in the records into 2024, including Larry W. Mincey (December 27, 2023), Dwight Hamrick Timms (January 14, 2024), Jonathan Matthew Rucker (January 16, 2024), John Carlysle Neale (February 27, 2024, age 86) and Thomas Lane Dean (April 16, 2024, age 18).

Augusta State Medical Prison — Warden from June 16, 2024 (WARDEN 3, 2024–2026). One hundred thirteen deaths are attributed to Augusta during his tenure. The most recent 25 recorded in GPS's death registry:

• Donnie Gene Poland died September 15, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Demilo Ponchorello Johnson died September 10, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Dwight Bernard Freeman died August 28, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 69; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Jimmie Lee Dennis died August 17, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 64; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• John Henry Tuff died August 8, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 75; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Anretoes Kenwood Wilkins died August 7, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 50; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Donald Hugh Young died August 5, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 49; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Phillip Curtis Walker died July 16, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 62; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Kolby Young died July 13, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 24; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Edouard Kamdem died July 12, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 77; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Joseph Daniel Bristol died July 11, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 73; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• David James Vineyard died July 3, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 58; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Jerry Watson died July 2, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 75; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Wanique Marsay Odwin died June 29, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 44; the registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• David Meeks died June 20, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 62; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• James Dean Wilkinson died May 28, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 69; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Jacobi Alandis Chomicki died May 22, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 23; the registry lists the cause as Homicide. Facility event records state his cause of death was undetermined at the time and his body was turned over for transport to the GBI crime lab.
• Frederick Raskin died May 12, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 84; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Henry Ross died May 11, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 56; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Manuel Gomez died May 9, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Robert Bruce Green died May 5, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 69; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Lemarcus Antonio Dunson died April 27, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 50; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Walter Caldwell died April 25, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 49; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Jackie Mccoy Blackmon died April 25, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 72; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Edward Eugene Barber died April 22, 2026, at Augusta State Medical Prison, age 72; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.

Reports submitted to GPS during this tenure describe further violence: a stabbing on July 9, 2026 while the facility was already on lockdown; the fatal stabbing of an incarcerated person on June 29, 2026, reportedly by a gang-affiliated individual, with the victim reported deceased before medical staff arrived; a report of a death by hanging on July 13, 2026, with the facility placed under emergency count; and a report that a person died in 2026 after reportedly never being moved from the dorm to medical care, with the cause described as likely natural but unconfirmed. A March 10, 2026 submission from a family member alleged multiple overlapping patterns at the facility, including medication denial or diversion, housing of vulnerable inmates with individuals known to have sexual assault histories, knife and sexual assaults attributed to gang members under severe understaffing, removal of medically waived lower-bunk accommodations, extended lockdowns, destruction of legal property, a non-functional grievance system, and staff self-censorship attributed to fear of retaliation from facility leadership — all allegations. A February 16, 2026 submission alleged a staff member verbally abused an incarcerated person with severe disabilities and refused catheter and feeding assistance.

AJC reporting recorded against the facility during his tenure states that the DOJ investigation found Rodarick Lee Hayes had been attacked on multiple occasions before his death, that a correctional officer was accused of aiding in the attack that killed Hayes, that Thomas Henry Giles was left for hours in his smoke-filled cell while officers evacuated nearby inmates and died of smoke inhalation in a death the GBI ruled a homicide, that guards moved a prisoner with a history of strangulation into Eddie Gosier's cell before Gosier was murdered hours later, and that Jimmy Lucero was placed in solitary without required medical checks and fell into a catatonic state and starved. AJC reporting in February 2026 also described a two-year investigation finding rampant corruption, massive understaffing and record homicides within GDC, and a federal judge holding the GDC in contempt over non-compliance with an email-contact order — litigation that names GDC officials, not Jones.

Litigation

• Leaphart v. Jones, No. 1:23-cv-02227 (GAND), filed May 17, 2023, terminated March 28, 2024; no outcome amount recorded. Filed while Jones held WARDEN 2 at Phillips State Prison.
• Doe v. Georgia Department of Corrections, No. 1:23-cv-05578 (GAND), filed December 6, 2023; pending. Filed during his Phillips State Prison tenure.
• Emery v. Holt, No. 1:24-cv-03486 (GAND), filed August 6, 2024; pending. Filed after he became warden at Augusta State Medical Prison.
• Ryhme v. Georgia Department of Corrections, No. 1:24-cv-04156 (GAND), filed September 16, 2024; pending. Filed during his Augusta tenure.
• Morgan v. Oliver, No. 1:25-cv-01700 (GAND), filed March 31, 2025; pending. Filed during his Augusta tenure.

The records do not state the subject matter or claims of these actions beyond the parties and docket information.

Sources

• GPS death registry — named decedent records and cause classifications for Rutledge, Phillips and Augusta State Medical Prison tenures
• GPS case submissions (inmate reports and family/witness allegations) from Augusta State Medical Prison, 2026
• Facility event records — Phillips State Prison deaths (Lovett, McBride, Daniels, Nealey, Johnson, Wimbush) and Rutledge State Prison (Mincey, Tucker)
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on the DOJ investigation and on deaths at Augusta State Medical Prison (Hayes, Giles, Gosier, Lucero); two-year investigation into GDC corruption, understaffing and homicides; February 2026 report on a federal contempt finding
• U.S. Department of Justice investigation of Georgia prisons, as reported by the AJC — finding on repeated attacks on Rodarick Lee Hayes and the gang war following McBride's homicide
• CourtListener dockets for the five GAND civil actions listed above

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Oct 18, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.