Jones, Lutria Jamil

Tenure Summary

Lutria Jamil Jones's documented career with the Georgia Department of Corrections begins in 2017, when the personnel record lists the title Behavioral Health Counselor 2 (2017), followed by Behavioral Health Counselor 3 (2018 and 2019) and Behavioral Health Counselor Supervisor (2020 and 2021) — positions recorded without a facility assignment. In 2022 Jones entered facility leadership as Deputy Warden at Ware State Prison, a role held through the 2022–2025 salary years, and since July 16, 2026 the record lists Jones as Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment at the same prison, with a one-day "Deputy Warden" entry dated August 27, 2026.

Per GPS's death registry, 59 deaths are attributed to Jones's leadership tenure, all of them at Ware State Prison. The records also document a $20,000 State of Georgia liability settlement tied to Ware (2023) recorded in the GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger obtained through Open Records, a riot and punitive lockdown at the prison on July 12, 2025, and two pending federal suits in which Jones is named as a defendant.

What happened on their watch

Ware State Prison — Deputy Warden (2022–2025). The registry records the following deaths during Jones's Deputy Warden tenure:

• Vernon Edward Kennedy died December 12, 2025, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Accident, age 70.
• Christopher Allen Barrett died December 1, 2025, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 46.
• Marty Shawn Wright died November 13, 2025, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 49.
• Michael Cohen died October 13, 2025, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 68.
• Jose Hervert Vazquez died September 9, 2025, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 53.
• Matias Elijaone Evans died August 15, 2025, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 28.
• Dakota Lee Duffin died July 19, 2025, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 29.
• David Michael Dixon died July 14, 2025, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 76.
• Barry Lynn Rutherford died May 25, 2025, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Overdose, age 36.
• Henry A Hamilton died May 9, 2025, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 79.
• Charles Johnny Rice died April 27, 2025, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 62.
• Lon Taylor Willbanks died April 19, 2025, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Overdose, age 31.
• Antonio Leon Moses died March 22, 2025, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 46.
• Demarcus McClarin died January 7, 2025, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Freddie Calloway died January 1, 2025, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Scott Lee Hullander died December 31, 2024, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 53.
• Lyen Motin died December 25, 2024, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 66.
• Ted Daniel Karras died December 20, 2024, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 67.
• David Renfro died October 16, 2024, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 43.
• Juan Carlos Mendez-Pimental died September 21, 2024, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 41.
• Squaier Lamar Jiles died September 16, 2024, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 35.
• Antonio Jones died September 1, 2024, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 44.
• Michael Lee Parker died August 22, 2024, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 71.
• Samuel Kieth Ellis died August 1, 2024, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 31.

Hospital/medical and chronic-illness deaths, homicides by sharp force and blunt impact, suicides and overdoses all appear on the registry, and two deaths in this period — Vazquez and Evans — carry a cause GPS lists as Unknown/Pending, meaning the registry does not yet state one. Separately, GPS's event records document the deaths of Kojack Thomas Jr., 27, pronounced dead May 31, 2024 at Ware with GDC investigating as a potential homicide, and Christopher Michael Drake Taylor, 33, who died May 28, 2024 from a stab wound to the torso.

Two deaths carry GPS's homicide classification resting on autopsy language, not on a homicide certification: for Ted Daniel Karras, a complete autopsy found evidence of neck compression and the pathologist wrote that "homicidal strangulation cannot be excluded"; for Charles Johnny Rice, the pathologist could not determine whether the death was "a suicidal hanging or a homicidal smothering or strangulation with postmortem positioning of the body." The Georgia Bureau of Investigation certified the manner of death as undetermined in both cases — that certification is the GBI's — and the homicide classification is GPS's.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, citing GDC incident reports, ten inmates were killed at Ware State Prison between July 2020 and August 2024, with multiple inmates involved in several of the homicides. Georgia Public Broadcasting reported Narissa Wright's allegation that no counts or welfare checks were conducted at Ware, allowing her son's body to go undiscovered for days; GPS's event record for the same date documents the death of DonTavis Mintz at Ware, whose body was not discovered for days and whose remains his mother Narissa Wright could identify only by a single tooth. GPS's event records also log a riot and punitive lockdown at Ware on July 12, 2025, and a $20,000 liability payout tied to the prison in 2023 (GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger, Open Records), listed to Jimmy Mack Rice.

Ware State Prison — Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment (from July 16, 2026). The registry records that David Williams died September 13, 2026, at Ware State Prison; GPS's registry lists the cause as Suicide. GPS intel reports dated that same day record a Telegram group report that an incarcerated person at Ware reportedly died by suicide in 2026, days after being placed in segregation, with the report questioning the circumstances, and a separate report in which an incarcerated person stated they expected violence and threatened to fight. A report dated August 3, 2026 describes a gang-related altercation at Ware in which multiple incarcerated people were stabbed and at least one was reported in serious condition; a report dated September 18, 2026 indicates Ware was off lockdown. Event records dated September 6, 2026 note a July traffic stop involving items allegedly destined for Ware and a July seizure of contraband believed headed there, both reported by the Butts County Sheriff's Office.

Litigation

• Brown v. Odum, case 5:25-cv-00062, court listed as GASD, filed June 30, 2025 — pending; Jones is named as a defendant.
• Jackson v. Odum, case 5:25-cv-00051, court listed as GASD, filed June 9, 2025 — pending; Jones is named as a defendant.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — report of ten killings at Ware State Prison between July 2020 and August 2024, based on GDC incident reports (January 21, 2025)
• Georgia Public Broadcasting — coverage of the federal Department of Justice deliberate-indifference findings, including Narissa Wright's allegations about Ware (October 1, 2024)
• GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) — $20,000 state liability payout tied to Ware State Prison (2023)
• Court records, dockets as listed on CourtListener — Brown v. Odum; Jackson v. Odum
• GPS death registry — individual death records at Ware State Prison during Jones's leadership tenure
• GPS intel reports and event records at Ware State Prison — inmate reports, riot, contraband seizures, and individual deaths

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Oct 11, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.