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Keith, Tonja T
Status: active
Profile written August 30, 2026
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
Tonja T. Keith appears in GPS personnel records as a correctional manager who served as a CSM Correctional Unit Manager in 2018 (salary $48,444.21; no facility listed) before becoming Deputy Warden at Telfair State Prison in 2019. Keith held the Telfair deputy-warden post through at least 2025, with annual salary rising from $49,472.88 in 2019 to $75,559.25 in 2025; an additional Deputy Warden entry is dated Aug. 27, 2026. GPS accountability data attribute 59 deaths at Telfair State Prison to Keith’s facility-deputy tenure — all 59 of the deaths in Keith’s by-facility record are at Telfair. The file includes a $3,249,872.60 State of Georgia liability payout tied to the 2023 death of Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano, reported by 13WMAZ as a $3.2 million settlement with his family, plus smaller State payouts at Telfair recorded in the GA DOAS settlement ledger during Keith’s tenure. Four federal suits appear in Keith’s litigation index, though the named defendants are not Keith.
What happened on their watch
Unit Manager (2018)
GPS records show no deaths attributed to the 2018 unit-manager posting.Telfair State Prison — Deputy Warden (2019–present)
The named decedents in Keith’s Telfair file run from March 2020 through July 2026. Among them, homicides are heavily represented: Cedric La’Troy Johnson Sr., 35, died by strangulation in March 2020; Aldrich Norval Cain, 26, and Marcus Derrelle Pearson Jr., 28, died of multiple stab wounds in April and May 2020; Juan Carlos Arguelles-Reveles, 37, was stabbed in May 2021; De’ahmoz Oshmic Floyd, 29, died of a stab wound to the neck in April 2023; Zoumana Madiou Sarre, 23, died of multiple stab wounds to the neck and torso in July 2024; and Preston C. Phelps, 28, died in a December 2025 gang fight, per Telfair County Coroner records. Suicides by hanging documented in the file include Dustin Bowling (December 2022), Rafael Foragi DaSilva (November 2022), Anthony James Mulder (July 2024), and Robert Baker (October 2025). Accidental drug-intoxication deaths include methamphetamine toxicity for Jeremy Williams (March 2021), William Allen Slaton (December 2022), and David Lane Campbell (July 2025), and synthetic-cannabinoid intoxication for Robert Messer (September 2025). GDC-coded natural deaths and “undetermined” classifications also appear, and a large share of the 2024–2026 named deaths remain categorized as unknown/pending.The most prominent case in Keith’s file is that of Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano, 27, who died July 20, 2023. GPS records and 13WMAZ describe him being left in an outdoor fenced cage for roughly five hours while the heat index reached about 105°F; he arrived at the hospital with a core temperature of 107°F. GPS records note GDC reported the death as “natural causes”; 13WMAZ reported an officer allegedly responded “if he dies, he dies.” The GA DOAS ledger records a $3,249,872.60 payout tied to the 2023 death, and 13WMAZ reported the family reached a $3.2 million settlement in June 2026. Other allegations in the file include an AJC-cited claim that Floyd was stabbed while no staff were present in the dorm and had renounced his gang affiliation; AJC reporting that Telfair was missing 76–79 percent of its officer workforce; and AJC reporting that Sgt. Desiree Briley helped smuggle meth into Telfair, tied to the Operation Ghost Busted prosecution. Event records note the Telfair warden was stabbed by an inmate during a contraband shakedown in March 2024.
Litigation
- Thomas v. White, No. 3:23-cv-00100 (S.D. Ga.), filed Dec. 21, 2023; terminated Feb. 23, 2024.
- Powell v. White, No. 3:23-cv-00096 (S.D. Ga.), filed Dec. 4, 2023; terminated Mar. 28, 2024.
- Hall v. Mcfarlane, No. 3:23-cv-00094 (S.D. Ga.), filed Nov. 29, 2023; terminated Mar. 4, 2024.
- Mckinney v. White, No. 3:22-cv-00062 (S.D. Ga.), filed June 13, 2022; terminated Sept. 8, 2022.
No outcome amounts are listed, and Keith’s name does not appear in the case captions; the named defendants are White and Mcfarlane.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation (Telfair homicide causes, Floyd allegations)
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Telfair staffing-shortage and contraband-smuggling reporting
- 13WMAZ — Ramirez heat-death settlement and officer-comment allegation
- Telfair County Coroner records and GBI DOFS autopsy reports, as cited in GPS death records
- GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records)
- CourtListener dockets for Thomas v. White, Powell v. White, Hall v. Mcfarlane, and Mckinney v. White
- Yahoo.com — report on Kendall Alfonzo Stevens bomb-threat allegation (2026)
- UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project custodial mortality dataset (GDC-coded causes for 2020 deaths)
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2026-08-27 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → present |
| Deputy Warden | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2023-11-22 → 2023-11-22 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | 2018-01-01 → 2018-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3:23-cv-00100 | GASD | 2023-12-21 | terminated |
| 3:23-cv-00096 | GASD | 2023-12-04 | terminated |
| 3:23-cv-00094 | GASD | 2023-11-29 | terminated |
| 3:22-cv-00062 | GASD | 2022-06-13 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
59 people died at facilities under Keith, Tonja T's leadership.
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