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Mims, Charles Michael
Status: active
Profile written August 2, 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
Charles Michael Mims is a long-serving Georgia Department of Corrections employee whose career advanced from entry-level officer to warden over two decades. Beginning as a correctional officer in 2007, Mims moved through frontline and supervisory roles—including a period in the elite Cobra Squad at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison—before attaining his first facility leadership post as Deputy Warden in 2020. He currently serves as the Warden of Smith State Prison. GPS records attribute a total of 36 deaths to facilities during Mims’s leadership tenures as a deputy warden or warden. His personnel records show he is a named defendant in two federal lawsuits.What happened on their watch
As Deputy Warden of Valdosta State Prison during 2020, eight deaths were recorded at the facility. Per GPS records and an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation, three of those deaths were homicides: Bobby Lane Carpenter, who died from a stab wound to the chest; Orvonta Casmir Tillman, from multiple sharp force penetrating trauma to the thorax; and Prince Blige, from a stab wound to the torso. An additional five deaths during Mims’s tenure are categorized under other causes. News reports from the period following his tenure detail a major drug trafficking conspiracy directed by an inmate at Valdosta, resulting in several arrests, and the AJC later reported that at least six correctional officers aided a separate inmate in smuggling contraband.Mims moved to the Deputy Warden position at Central State Prison in 2021. Six deaths were recorded there during his tenure. Among them, GPS records show Joshua Carl Lester died from a stab wound to the chest, a homicide documented by the AJC. The remaining five deaths are categorized under other causes, according to GPS data.
In 2022, Mims was assigned to Wilcox State Prison, first as Deputy Warden and then promoting to Warden 1 in 2023. GPS records show 18 deaths attributed to the facility during his combined leadership tenure there through 2024. Among the sampled records, five are listed as homicides. According to coroner records cited by GPS, these include the 2022 death of James Forest Williams from blunt and sharp force injuries; the 2024 deaths of Mariol Juante Rawls by sharp force neck trauma, Arthur Jerome Williams by blunt force trauma to the head and neck, and Rodney Whatley by blunt force trauma of the head; and the 2024 death of Alexander S. Grimes, which the coroner ruled an accidental death from polysubstance toxicity. Coroner records for several other deaths during Mims’s wardenship at Wilcox cite accidental overdoses involving synthetic cannabinoids or methamphetamine, and multiple natural deaths. A public Facebook post in 2026 alleged that under a different warden at Wilcox, basic inmate supplies were not issued for a year and senior staff held on-clock gatherings that locked down inmate movement.
Mims was appointed Warden of Smith State Prison in early 2025. Four deaths are attributed to the facility during his current tenure. Sampled deaths include John Jacobs, a 77-year-old whose death the coroner ruled natural, and Nicholas Shafer, a 24-year-old whose death was categorized by GPS under a cause code distinct from natural or homicide, with notes indicating he had been beaten. Mims took command at Smith State Prison following the arrest of the previous warden, Brian Adams, who was indicted on racketeering and other felony charges related to a contraband scheme. According to The Georgia Virtue and the AJC, the contraband crisis at the prison allegedly facilitated multiple murders. Reporting from the AJC described Smith State Prison as one of the most understaffed and violent facilities in the system.
Litigation
- Collins v. Jones, case number 5:25-cv-00451, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia on October 15, 2025, and remains pending.
- Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, case number 1:25-cv-03191, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on June 6, 2025, and was terminated on March 30, 2026.
Sources
- GPS records — personnel history, total deaths attributed, and deaths by facility for Charles Michael Mims
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation, reporting on homicides and contraband schemes at Valdosta, Central, and Smith State Prisons
- Wilcox County Coroner Janice B. Brown records — autopsy and manner of death findings for multiple decedents at Wilcox State Prison
- CourtListener — filings for Collins v. Jones and Daker v. Oliver
- The Georgia Virtue — reporting on the indictment of former Smith State Prison Warden Brian Adams and related civil suits
- Yahoo.com / WTOC — reporting on drug trafficking and sexual assault incidents at Valdosta and Smith State Prisons
- Facebook (public post) — allegations concerning conditions at Wilcox State Prison
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Warden | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2025-07-16 → present |
| WARDEN 1 | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| WARDEN 1 | WILCOX STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2024-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | WILCOX STATE PRISON | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | CENTRAL STATE PRISON | 2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2020-01-01 → 2020-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → 2019-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL CAPTAIN | DODGE STATE PRISON | 2017-01-01 → 2018-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP) | TELFAIR STATE PRISON | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
| Sergeant | PULASKI STATE PRISON | 2012-01-01 → 2012-12-31 |
| Cobra Squad | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2011-01-01 → 2011-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | PULASKI STATE PRISON | 2007-01-01 → 2007-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:25-cv-00451 | GAMD | 2025-10-15 | pending |
| 1:25-cv-03191 | GAND | 2025-06-06 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
36 people died at facilities under Mims, Charles Michael's leadership.
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