Mims, Charles Michael

Tenure Summary

Charles Michael Mims entered the Georgia Department of Corrections as a correctional officer at Pulaski State Prison in 2007 and worked his way up through the ranks: sergeant at Pulaski (2012), correctional officer and then lieutenant at Telfair State Prison (2015–2016), captain at Dodge State Prison (2017–2018), unit manager at Valdosta State Prison (2019), deputy warden at Valdosta (2020), at Central State Prison (2021), and at Wilcox State Prison (2022), then Warden 1 at Wilcox for 2023 and 2024. From January 1, 2025 he held warden titles covering both Wilcox and Smith State Prison; since July 16, 2025 he has been Warden at Smith State Prison. His personnel record lists him as active.

Across his facility-leadership postings — deputy warden and warden — 46 deaths are attributed to his tenure, per GPS's death registry: 28 at Wilcox State Prison, 8 at Valdosta State Prison, 6 at Central State Prison, and 4 at Smith State Prison. Two federal lawsuits naming him as a defendant appear in court records, one pending. State settlement ledgers record payouts tied to facilities he led, and reporting during his Wilcox and Smith tenures describes gang violence, contraband networks and staffing failures.

What happened on their watch

Valdosta State Prison — Deputy Warden (2020). Eight deaths are attributed to his deputy-warden year at Valdosta. Three carry homicide descriptions in the registry: Prince Leonard Blige died February 12, 2020, from a stab wound to the torso; Orvonta Tillman died June 16, 2020, from multiple sharp-force penetrating trauma to the thorax; and Bobby Carpenter died September 9, 2020, from a stab wound to the chest. Five further deaths that year are recorded on January 11 (Michael Lee Vaughn), September 1 (Shannon Small), November 14 (Gary Thomas Keown), December 3 (Brandon Omar Weaver) and December 5 (Johnny Claude Mitchell).

Central State Prison — Deputy Warden (2021). Six deaths are attributed to his year at Central. Joshua Carl-Haynes Lester died July 28, 2021, from a stab wound to the chest. Also recorded that year are Adam Clint West (April 6), Demetrius Richardson (April 24), Joseph Dewayne Hamby (June 19), Matthew James Colozzi (August 1) and Michael Allen Stegall (December 6). The GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger, obtained through open records, shows a $3,000 state liability payout tied to Central State Prison for a 2021 incident involving Daniel Ford, GDC #989346.

Wilcox State Prison — Deputy Warden (2022). Four deaths are attributed to his deputy-warden year at Wilcox: Kelvin Lowe (May 27), Clayton Wesley Carleton (August 10), James Forest Williams (October 3) — whose registry entry describes blunt and sharp-force injuries to head, torso and extremities — and Kemarrio Laquan Clark (December 28).

Wilcox State Prison — Warden 1 / Warden (2023 – July 15, 2025). The bulk of the attributed deaths fall here. On September 3, 2023, a gang-related fight at Wilcox killed Maurice Brown and injured nine other incarcerated people, seven of whom were hospitalized and two airlifted, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. Mariol Juante Rawls, 41, was stabbed repeatedly with a 12-inch blade by at least eight men described as validated gang members on August 27, 2024; at least eight men were charged with murder. The DOAS settlement ledger records a $13,000 payout tied to a 2023 Wilcox incident involving Barrington Morrison. Reporting in this period also described a 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report on gang-run Georgia prisons, a GDC statement that 42 deaths in the first six months of 2025 were under investigation as possible homicides, a gang fight in early 2025 that sent nine inmates to hospital with stab wounds, and the Legislature's approval of $434 million in new GDC funding. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation published January 21, 2025 alleged that officials failed to recognize James Wheeler's mental-health disease despite a history of self-harm and placed him in solitary confinement, where he was found hanging.

The following people died at Wilcox State Prison during the periods Mims held the warden role there:

• Harold Stanley Hester died July 10, 2025, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 78.
• Ian Rashod Henry died June 22, 2025, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 29.
• Dominique Cornelius Cole died June 8, 2025, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 37.
• Terry Alan Roper died June 6, 2025, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 70.
• Roy Lee Gates died May 16, 2025, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 39.
• Thomas Leonardo Schwartz died May 14, 2025, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 59.
• Darrius Jerrod Zanders died May 5, 2025, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Suicide, age 33.
• Daylyne Collins died April 20, 2025, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 30.
• Raymond Trey Moody died March 11, 2025, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 37.
• Keith Wingo died January 16, 2025, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• James Edward Hogan died December 10, 2024, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Overdose, age 32.
• Rodney Hurley died November 9, 2024, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 56.
• George Luis Morales died October 28, 2024, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 75.
• Alexander S Grimes died October 9, 2024, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Overdose, age 44.
• Rodney Whatley died October 5, 2024, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 54.
• Mariol Juante Rawls died August 27, 2024, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 41.
• Jody Cris Jones died August 21, 2024, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 52.
• Arthur Jerome Williams died July 19, 2024, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 55.
• Kevin Joseph Degraft died February 12, 2024, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Overdose, age 40.
• Richard Amos died December 17, 2023, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 77.
• Brian Michael Niehaus died August 23, 2023, at Wilcox State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 51.

Smith State Prison — Warden (dual warden titles from January 1, 2025; Warden from July 16, 2025). Four deaths are attributed to his Smith tenure. On April 1, 2026, a gang-related altercation at Smith sent two inmates to hospitals by airlift and prompted GDC to lock down all state facilities until further notice, per WTOC. In June 2026, GPS intake records describe a CERT team member beaten and stabbed by multiple incarcerated people, and monitored group communications discussing coordinated retaliation against staff. Reporting in September 2026 described Smith and other facilities running lockdowns or emergency counts. The Georgia Virtue reported in October 2026 that a civil forfeiture complaint sought $115,710.36 from Jennifer Lynn Thrasher, accused of smuggling methamphetamine into Smith for her incarcerated husband over three years, including four bundles alleged carried in on August 22, 2026. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation published January 28, 2026 reported that GDC does not review applicants' credit or financial histories and that more than 425 GDC employees have been arrested for contraband since 2018; the same reporting covered the case against former Smith warden Brian Adams, indicted by a Tattnall County grand jury on May 12, 2026 on six felony counts including RICO and making false statements, and a civil suit against Adams and former officer Ireon Moore. A lawsuit filed in Fulton County State Court on July 21, 2025 — a date on which Mims held the Smith warden title — alleges prison staff were repeatedly warned a gun was on the premises before inmate Jaydrekus Hart shot and killed Aramark food service employee Aureon Shavea Grace in June 2024, and that no guards were in the area.

The following people died at Smith State Prison during Mims's tenure there:

• Dreeonnie Lee Hart died May 14, 2026, at Smith State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending, age 25.
• Dwayne Eric Albritton died March 12, 2026, at Smith State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Medical Neglect, age 65.
• Nicholas Shafer died February 8, 2026, at Smith State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, age 24.
• John Jacobs died October 25, 2025, at Smith State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical, age 77.

Litigation

• Collins v. Jones, No. 5:25-cv-00451 (court designation GAMD), filed October 15, 2025; pending. Mims is listed as a defendant.
• Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, No. 1:25-cv-03191 (court designation GAND), filed June 6, 2025; terminated March 30, 2026. Mims is listed as a defendant.
• Hagins v. Georgia Department of Corrections, filed in Fulton County State Court on July 21, 2025 by Deshonda Hagins, seeking a jury trial and unspecified compensation; the suit alleges staff were warned of a gun at Smith State Prison and failed to act. Filed against GDC, not against Mims individually.

Sources

• GPS death registry — cause, date and facility for each death listed above; totals of 46 attributed deaths (Wilcox 28, Valdosta 8, Central 6, Smith 4)
• GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) — $13,000 Wilcox payout (Barrington Morrison, 2023) and $3,000 Central payout (Daniel Ford, 2021)
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — January 21, 2025 report on James Wheeler at Wilcox; July 21, 2025 report on the Smith State Prison kitchen killing and the warnings alleged beforehand; January 28, 2026 investigation into contraband hiring and the Smith warden case
• The Georgia Virtue — Tattnall County grand jury indictment of former Smith warden Brian Adams (May 2026); Georgia Court of Appeals ruling (June 2026); civil forfeiture complaint against Jennifer Lynn Thrasher (October 2026)
• WTOC — April 1, 2026 gang-related altercation at Smith State Prison and system-wide GDC lockdown
• U.S. Department of Justice — report on gang-run Georgia prisons cited in 2024–2025 coverage
• Georgia Department of Corrections statements — September 3, 2023 Wilcox gang fight; 42 deaths under homicide investigation in the first half of 2025
• CourtListener dockets — Collins v. Jones; Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order

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.