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Jones, Joshua
Status: active
Profile written May 31, 2026
Salary
$108,326
2025 · state payroll
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
Joshua Jones has held multiple roles inside the Georgia Department of Corrections since 2007, moving from correctional officer to sergeant, lieutenant, unit manager, and deputy warden before assuming the top post at Hays State Prison. He became Warden at Hays in July 2023 and continued as Warden 3 through 2025. GPS records attribute 21 deaths to Hays State Prison during his leadership tenure there—all recorded while Jones held the facility’s highest accountability tier. Multiple civil-rights lawsuits naming Jones have been filed in federal court; several remain pending.What happened on their watch
Warden, Hays State Prison (July 2023 – present) During Jones’s tenure as Warden and Warden 3, GPS records document 21 deaths at Hays State Prison. The deaths include homicides, suspected foul play, and cases where the cause category is listed as undetermined. Among the homicides, GPS records show that Talore Blackford died of multiple neck stab wounds in October 2023, per an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation. Jeremy Price was killed by stab wounds to the neck and chest in March 2024, and Freddie Talley suffered a stab wound to the chest in May 2024, both also cited by the AJC. In October 2024, Lawrence Williams was reportedly stabbed numerous times, according to inmate accounts collected by GPS. In January 2026, Melvin Johnson was beaten and left brain dead after, according to Telegram reports, he had warned counselors he could not safely return to his dorm; his family was initially denied a visit, and GPS relayed that “nothing [was] on camera.” Three months later, another incarcerated person identified as KG was killed during an official inspection, with reports of additional victims bearing neck wounds, according to AI-detected Telegram messages.Broader patterns at the prison surface in GPS intelligence reports. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the GDC was blocking access to death information as homicides spiked, and the newspaper also covered a lieutenant’s smuggling arrest and a former guard sentenced for trafficking methamphetamine. In 2025, the state announced a $24 million hardened unit at Hays, yet the facility continued to log homicides and violent incidents. Intake from inmate sources alleges systemic understaffing and unchecked gang activity during Jones’s watch.
Litigation
- Burton v. Jones, 4:23-cv-00111 (S.D. Ga., filed Apr. 2023) – pending.
- Daker v. Jones, 4:24-cv-00173 (N.D. Ga., filed Jul. 2024) – pending.
- Jackson v. Jones, 1:26-cv-00782 (N.D. Ga., filed Feb. 2026) – pending.
- Rice v. Jones, 1:24-cv-04445 (N.D. Ga., filed Oct. 2024) – terminated Apr. 2025.
- White v. Jones, 1:26-cv-00212 (N.D. Ga., filed Jan. 2026) – pending.
- White v. Jones, 4:26-cv-00017 (N.D. Ga., filed Jan. 2026) – pending.
- Carr v. Wbj Leadership Committee Inc, 1:25-cv-04426 (N.D. Ga., filed Aug. 2025) – terminated Aug. 2025.
- Musson v. Jones, 4:22-cv-00124 (S.D. Ga., filed May 2022) – terminated Apr. 2025.
- Vaquera v. Sprayberry, 4:22-cv-00089 (N.D. Ga., filed Apr. 2022) – terminated Feb. 2024.
- Willis v. Government Employees Insurance Company, 5:23-cv-00430 (M.D. Ga., filed Oct. 2023) – terminated Jan. 2026.
- Stuart, 1:17-cv-00107 (S.D. Ga., filed Aug. 2017) – terminated Dec. 2018.
- Pelka v. Ware County Georgia, 5:16-cv-00108 (S.D. Ga., filed Dec. 2016) – terminated Feb. 2019.
- Laureate Education Inc v. Laureate Learning Center Inc, 1:15-cv-01756 (N.D. Ga., filed May 2015) – terminated Sep. 2017.
- Harris v. Purvis, 4:15-cv-00053 (S.D. Ga., filed Mar. 2015) – terminated Jun. 2015.
- Harris v. Purvis, 4:14-cv-00280 (S.D. Ga., filed Dec. 2014) – terminated May 2015.
- Milo v. Polite, 1:14-cv-02802 (N.D. Ga., filed Aug. 2014) – terminated Jun. 2016.
- Jackson v. Catanzariti, 6:12-cv-00113 (S.D. Ga., filed Dec. 2012) – terminated Jun. 2023.
Sources
- GPS records — personnel positions, total deaths attributed (21), deaths by facility, death incident details, and Telegram-relayed inmate reports.
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — homicide investigations (cause-of-death details for Blackford, Price, Talley), report on GDC withholding death information, staff smuggling cases.
- Coosa Valley News — reporting of James Cannon’s death (foul play suspected) in October 2025.
- CourtListener / PACER — federal court dockets for all lawsuits listed.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| WARDEN 3 | HAYS STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL OFFICER 2 | 2024-01-01 → present | |
| WARDEN 3 | 2024-01-01 → 2024-12-31 | |
| Warden | HAYS STATE PRISON | 2023-07-01 → present |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL OFFICER 1 | 2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | 2020-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONAL OFC 2 | HAYS STATE PRISON | 2021-01-01 → 2022-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL OFC 1 | HAYS STATE PRISON | 2020-01-01 → 2020-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | 2017-01-01 → 2019-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP) | HAYS STATE PRISON | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
| Sergeant | HAYS STATE PRISON | 2013-01-01 → 2013-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | WALKER STATE PRISON | 2007-01-01 → 2007-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:26-cv-00782 | GAND | 2026-02-10 | pending |
| 4:26-cv-00017 | GAND | 2026-01-14 | pending |
| 1:26-cv-00212 | GAND | 2026-01-14 | pending |
| 1:25-cv-04426 | GAND | 2025-08-07 | terminated |
| 1:24-cv-04445 | GAND | 2024-10-01 | terminated |
| 4:24-cv-00173 | GAND | 2024-07-15 | pending |
| 5:23-cv-00430 | GAMD | 2023-10-26 | terminated |
| 4:23-cv-00111 | GASD | 2023-04-26 | pending |
| 4:22-cv-00124 | GASD | 2022-05-11 | terminated |
| 4:22-cv-00089 | GAND | 2022-04-13 | terminated |
| 1:17-cv-00107 | GASD | 2017-08-28 | terminated |
| 5:16-cv-00108 | GASD | 2016-12-11 | terminated |
| 1:15-cv-01756 | GAND | 2015-05-18 | terminated |
| 4:15-cv-00053 | GASD | 2015-03-02 | terminated |
| 4:14-cv-00280 | GASD | 2014-12-23 | terminated |
| 1:14-cv-02802 | GAND | 2014-08-29 | terminated |
| 6:12-cv-00113 | GASD | 2012-12-10 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
21 people died at facilities under Jones, Joshua's leadership.
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