Jones, Lutria Jamil

Tenure Summary

Lutria Jamil Jones entered the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2017 as a Behavioral Health Counselor 2, moving to Counselor 3 in 2018–2019 and Behavioral Health Counselor Supervisor in 2020–2021 — all staff-tier positions in which no facility is recorded. Jones moved into facility leadership at Ware State Prison as Deputy Warden for 2022, 2023 and 2024, and remained at that rank at Ware through 2025. On July 16, 2026, Jones became Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment at Ware State Prison, the position held at the time of the most recent deaths in the registry.

GPS attributes 61 deaths to Jones's leadership tenures, every one of them at Ware State Prison — the only facility where Jones has held a leadership post. Two federal lawsuits naming Jones as a defendant were filed in 2025 while Jones was Deputy Warden at Ware; both remain pending. A $20,000 state liability settlement tied to a 2023 incident at Ware is recorded in the Georgia DOAS Risk Management ledger for the same period.

What happened on their watch

Ware State Prison — Deputy Warden (2022–2025). The registry attributes the large majority of the 61 deaths to these years. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported (January 21, 2025), citing GDC incident reports, that ten inmates were killed at Ware State Prison between July 2020 and August 2024, with multiple inmates involved in several of the homicides. Individual deaths recorded in GPS's registry from this posting include Va'Darian LaVianta Carr, who died September 18, 2022, from stab wounds to the chest and back; Kyle Anthony Strother, who died June 5, 2022, from a stab wound to the chest; Alfonso Marquez Moore, who died June 19, 2023, from blunt impact injuries to the head; Thomas Jerome McCoy, who died October 7, 2023, from a stab wound to the chest, with three other prisoners involved per GDC data; Leonardo Lamonte Anderson, who died April 20, 2024, from multiple stab wounds; Christopher Michael Drake Taylor, who died May 28, 2024, from a stab wound to the torso; and Samuel Keith Ellis, who died August 1, 2024, from multiple sharp force injuries. Kojack Thomas Jr., 27, was pronounced dead at Ware on May 31, 2024; GDC said it was investigating as a potential homicide.

Two of these deaths carry GPS homicide classifications that diverge from the state's certification, and the distinction matters. GPS classifies the deaths of Ted Daniel Karras (December 20, 2024) and Charles Johnny Rice (April 27, 2025) as homicides. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation certified the manner of each as UNDETERMINED, and that certification stands. GPS's classification rests on the autopsies: in Karras's case a complete autopsy found evidence of neck compression and the pathologist wrote that while the injury could have come from hanging, "homicidal strangulation cannot be excluded"; in Rice's case the pathologist could not determine whether the death was "a suicidal hanging or a homicidal smothering or strangulation with postmortem positioning of the body." GPS notes the same pattern in both — asphyxial mechanism, complete autopsy, manner left undetermined, homicide expressly not ruled out.

DonTavis Mintz died at Ware State Prison and his body was not discovered for days; when his remains were returned to his mother, Narissa Wright, she could only identify him by a single tooth. Wright alleges that no counts or welfare checks were conducted at Ware, allowing her son's body to go undiscovered for days, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting (October 1, 2024). A riot at Ware on July 12, 2025 was followed by a punitive lockdown, per GPS's event records. A state liability payout of $20,000 is recorded in the GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) tied to Ware State Prison, incident year 2023, decedent Jimmy Mack Rice, ledger entry dated October 12, 2023.

Ware State Prison — Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment (from July 16, 2026). Reports logged to Ware during this posting include a Telegram group report that an incarcerated person died by suicide days after being placed in segregation, with the report questioning the circumstances; a report that an incarcerated person said they expected violence and threatened to fight and "take others with them"; an inmate report of a gang-related altercation in which multiple incarcerated people were stabbed and at least one was reported in serious condition; a report that Ware was off lockdown; and a Butts County Sheriff's Office account of a July seizure of contraband believed headed to Ware, alongside a July traffic stop involving items allegedly destined for the prison.

Deaths recorded during Jones's leadership tenures (most recent, per GPS's death registry):

• David Wayne Williams died September 13, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 57.
• David Allan Dowling died August 9, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 69.
• Percy Lee Burdine died August 6, 2026, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 44.
• Vernon Edward Kennedy died December 12, 2025, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Accident, age 70.
• Christopher Allen Barrett died December 1, 2025, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 46.
• Marty Shawn Wright died November 13, 2025, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 49.
• Michael Cohen died October 13, 2025, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 68.
• Jose Hervert Vazquez died September 9, 2025, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 53.
• Matias Elijaone Evans died August 15, 2025, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 28.
• Dakota Lee Duffin died July 19, 2025, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 29.
• David Michael Dixon died July 14, 2025, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 76.
• Barry Lynn Rutherford died May 25, 2025, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Overdose, age 36.
• Henry A Hamilton died May 9, 2025, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 79.
• Charles Johnny Rice died April 27, 2025, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 62.
• Lon Taylor Willbanks died April 19, 2025, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Overdose, age 31.
• Antonio Leon Moses died March 22, 2025, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 46.
• Demarcus McClarin died January 7, 2025, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Freddie Calloway died January 1, 2025, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Scott Lee Hullander died December 31, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 53.
• Lyen Motin died December 25, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 66.
• Ted Daniel Karras died December 20, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 67.
• David Renfro died October 16, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 43.
• Juan Carlos Mendez-Pimental died September 21, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 41.
• Squaier Lamar Jiles died September 16, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 35.
• Antonio Jones died September 1, 2024, at Ware State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 44.

Litigation

• Brown v. Odum, No. 5:25-cv-00062 (GASD), filed June 30, 2025 — Jones listed as a defendant; status pending, no outcome recorded. Filed while Jones held the Deputy Warden post at Ware State Prison.
• Jackson v. Odum, No. 5:25-cv-00051 (GASD), filed June 9, 2025 — Jones listed as a defendant; status pending, no outcome recorded. Filed while Jones held the Deputy Warden post at Ware State Prison.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — report (January 21, 2025) that ten inmates were killed at Ware State Prison between July 2020 and August 2024, citing GDC incident reports
• Georgia Public Broadcasting — Narissa Wright's allegations (October 1, 2024) that no counts or welfare checks were conducted at Ware, and the death of DonTavis Mintz
• Georgia Department of Corrections incident report data — details for the McCoy, Ellis and Thomas deaths
• Georgia Bureau of Investigation — manner-of-death certifications (undetermined) in the Karras and Rice deaths
• Georgia Department of Administrative Services, Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) — $20,000 Ware State Prison settlement, incident year 2023
• Court records via CourtListener dockets — Brown v. Odum and Jackson v. Odum
• GPS death registry and logged inmate/Telegram reports — 61 deaths attributed at Ware State Prison and 2026 facility reports

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Nov 1, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.