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Mims, Charles Michael
Status: active
Profile written July 12, 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 rose from correctional officer to warden across a two-decade career in the Georgia Department of Corrections. He held entry-level and supervisory posts at Pulaski, Georgia Diagnostic, Telfair, and Dodge before moving into facility leadership. GPS records attribute 36 deaths to his tenures in deputy warden and warden roles at four prisons: Valdosta State Prison (deputy, 2020), Central State Prison (deputy, 2021), Wilcox State Prison (deputy warden 2022, warden 2023‑2024), and Smith State Prison (warden, 2025‑present). The highest toll—18 deaths—occurred at Wilcox, where he served first as deputy and then as warden. Mims is named as a defendant in two federal lawsuits filed in 2025.What happened on their watch
Valdosta State Prison (Deputy Warden, 2020) Eight people died while Mims held the deputy warden post. Three of those deaths were homicides: per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s prison homicides investigation, Bobby Lane Carpenter 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. The remaining five—Johnny Claude Mitchell, Brandon Omar Weaver, Gary Thomas Keown, Shannon Small, and Michael Lee Vaughn—are recorded in GPS records with cause categories that are not publicly detailed. No intel reports in the GPS database link those deaths to direct misconduct by Mims.Central State Prison (Deputy Warden, 2021)
Six deaths were recorded during Mims’ year as deputy warden at Central. According to the AJC, Joshua Carl Lester was killed by a stab wound to the chest. The other five—Michael Allen Stegall, Matthew James Colozzi, Joseph Dewayne Hamby, Demetrius Richardson, and Adam Clint West—appear in the GPS death log without further cause-of-death details. No allegations in the GPS intelligence archive tie these deaths to Mims personally.
Wilcox State Prison (Deputy Warden 2022; Warden 2023‑2024)
Wilcox accounts for 18 of the 36 deaths attributed to Mims’ leadership career. Coroner records obtained by GPS document multiple homicides: James Forest Williams (October 2022, blunt and sharp force injuries of head, torso, and extremities); Rodney Whatley (October 2024, blunt force trauma of the head); Mariol Juante Rawls (August 2024, sharp force neck trauma from stab wounds); and Arthur Jerome Williams (July 2024, blunt force trauma to head and neck). The facility also saw a pattern of accidental overdoses involving MDMB‑4en‑PINACA, a synthetic cannabinoid, sometimes combined with methamphetamine. Coroners ruled deaths such as those of Kevin Joseph Degraft, James Edward Hogan, Robert Mitchell Woodland, Kenneth Laron Cotton, Jasper Leggett, and Alexander S. Grimes as accidental drug toxicities. Natural deaths during this period included Richard Amos, Brian Michael Niehaus, Jody Cris Jones, George Luis Morales, Rodney Hurley, Clayton Wesley Carleton, Kemarrio Laquan Clark, and Kelvin Lowe, each with physician‑ or coroner‑confirmed natural causes.
Smith State Prison (Warden, 2025‑present)
Mims has been warden at Smith since January 2025. GPS records show four deaths during his tenure so far. John Jacobs, 77, died of natural causes (cardiorespiratory arrest from sepsis) after complex surgery, according to a Tattnall County deputy coroner’s report. Nicholas Shafer, 24, was found beaten with his hands and feet bound and an object stuffed in his mouth; GPS classifies the death as a homicide based on a user report. The other two deaths—Dwayne Eric Albritton and Dreeonnie Lee Hart—are logged without publicly available cause details. During Mims’ wardenship, two high‑profile security breakdowns drew media attention: an inmate obtained a loaded gun inside the prison and fatally shot an Aramark kitchen employee, a failure the AJC called a major security lapse the GDC has yet to fully explain; and a gang‑related altercation at Smith in April 2026 triggered a system‑wide lockdown of all GDC facilities.
Litigation
- Collins v. Jones (No. 5:25‑cv‑00451, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, filed October 15, 2025). Status: pending.
- Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order (No. 1:25‑cv‑03191, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, filed June 6, 2025, terminated March 30, 2026). No monetary outcome recorded.
Sources
- GPS intelligence records, including positional history and death tallies by facility
- GPS coroner‑record archive (Wilcox County Coroner Janice B. Brown, Tattnall County Deputy Coroner Daniel Bennett)
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation (homicides at Valdosta, Central, Wilcox, and Smith)
- AJC reporting on the Smith State Prison shooting and the April 2026 system‑wide lockdown
- CourtListener — dockets for Collins v. Jones and Daker v. Oliver
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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