Mims, Charles Michael

Tenure Summary

Charles Michael Mims began his GDC career as a correctional officer at Pulaski State Prison in 2007 and rose steadily through the ranks — sergeant, lieutenant, captain, unit manager, deputy warden — before reaching the facility-lead tier. GPS records show he has held warden-level authority continuously since 2023: first at Wilcox State Prison (2023–2024) and then at Smith State Prison (January 2025–present). Across his deputy-warden and warden postings at Valdosta, Central, Wilcox, and Smith State Prisons, GPS records attribute 35 deaths to facilities during his leadership tenures. Of those, at least nine are categorized as homicides (cause category 3), including deaths documented by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Georgia Prison Homicides investigation. One allegation reported by the AJC directly names a "now-former warden of Smith State Prison" as having allegedly accepted cash payments tied to an inmate's multimillion-dollar contraband scheme; Mims currently holds that warden role.

---

What Happened on Their Watch

Valdosta State Prison — Deputy Warden (2020)

Mims served as Deputy Warden at Valdosta State Prison throughout 2020. GPS records attribute eight deaths to the facility during that year. Four are classified as homicides per AJC investigation data: Prince Blige (age 54, February 12) died of a stab wound to the torso; Orvonta Casmir Tillman (age 36, June 16) died of multiple sharp-force penetrating trauma to the thorax; Bobby Lane Carpenter (age 31, September 9) died of a stab wound to the chest; and Shannon Small (age 37, September 1) died during the same period. The remaining four deaths — Michael Lee Vaughn, Gary Thomas Keown, Brandon Omar Weaver, and Johnny Claude Mitchell — carry non-homicide cause categories. Separately, the AJC reported that at least six correctional officers at Valdosta were allegedly engaged in smuggling drug-soaked paper, pills, and tobacco on behalf of inmate Kydetrius Thomas, and that one officer allegedly placed an inmate in a cell while handcuffed, where he was attacked by a cellmate. The AJC also reported that a prisoner named Shane Griffith was allegedly punched, kicked, stomped, whipped with a belt, and burned by 11 inmates over several hours before staff noticed he was dead; Griffith's family filed a notice of intent to sue the state in early 2025.

Central State Prison — Deputy Warden (2021)

GPS records attribute six deaths to Central State Prison during Mims's deputy-warden year. One is classified as a homicide: Joshua Carl Lester (age 34, July 28) died of a stab wound to the chest, per the AJC investigation. The AJC also reported, citing a DOJ report, that Hollis Alan Bryant was stabbed to death at the facility and that Marquis L. Johnson was stabbed in the prison barbershop and later died of cardiac arrest secondary to the stabbing — though neither of those deaths appears in the GPS deaths-during-tenure table for Mims's posting period. The remaining five deaths in GPS records — Adam Clint West, Demetrius Richardson, Joseph Dewayne Hamby, Matthew James Colozzi, and Michael Allen Stegall — carry non-homicide cause categories.

Wilcox State Prison — Deputy Warden (2022) → Warden (2023–2024)

Mims transitioned from Deputy Warden to Warden at Wilcox State Prison, a posting spanning three calendar years. GPS records attribute 21 deaths to the facility across that period. During his deputy-warden year (2022), four deaths occurred: James Forest Williams (age 43, October 3) died of blunt and sharp force injuries to the head, torso, and extremities, per the AJC — a homicide; the other three (Kelvin Lowe, Clayton Wesley Carleton, Kemarrio Laquan Clark) carry non-homicide categories. As Warden (2023–2024), GPS records show 17 additional deaths. Two are classified as homicides by the AJC: Arthur Jerome Williams (age 55, July 19, 2024), described as a homicide involving two inmates; and Mariol Juante Rawls (age 41, August 27, 2024), described as involving nine offenders and a homemade weapon. The remaining 15 deaths carry non-homicide cause categories and span ages 32 to 77. The AJC separately reported that officials failed to recognize inmate James Wheeler's mental health history and placed him in solitary confinement at Wilcox, where he was found hanging — though that incident is not listed in the GPS deaths table for Mims's tenure. A gang fight at Wilcox in early 2025 sent nine inmates to the hospital with stab wounds, per GPS intel records.

Smith State Prison — Warden (January 2025–present)

Mims transferred to Smith State Prison as Warden in January 2025. GPS records attribute three deaths to the facility during his tenure there: John Jacobs (age 77, October 25, 2025, non-homicide category); Nicholas Shafer (age 24, February 8, 2026, homicide category); and Dwayne Eric Albritton (age 65, March 12, 2026, non-homicide category). Per GPS records, Shafer — a 24-year-old who had recently transferred from ASMP to Baldwin State Prison to Smith — had been beaten, with his hands and feet bound and an object stuffed in his mouth. Smith State Prison carries extensive documented systemic problems overlapping Mims's tenure. The AJC reported that the facility had approximately two-thirds of its correctional officer positions unfilled, leaving only 53 officers at a facility designed for 160. The Marshall Project reported that understaffing was so severe that a single officer was assigned to an area housing 600 men, with no functioning fire extinguishers, when inmates set mattresses on fire, and that a decomposing body went undiscovered for five days. The AJC reported that an inmate obtained a loaded gun inside Smith and used it to kill an Aramark food-service employee — a security failure GDC has not publicly explained — and that a former corrections officer alleged the facility's back gate lacks a metal detector. The AJC also reported that inmate Nathan Weekes allegedly orchestrated three murders from inside Smith using a contraband cellphone, including the mistaken-identity killing of 88-year-old Bobby Kicklighter. Most directly, the AJC reported that "the now-former warden of Smith State Prison" — the role Mims currently holds — is accused of accepting cash payments in an inmate's multimillion-dollar contraband scheme; Mims is the current warden. A gang-related altercation at Smith on April 1, 2026 triggered a system-wide GDC lockdown, with two inmates airlifted to hospitals. On April 2, 2026, additional gang-related fights at Smith, Wilcox, Hays, and Valdosta State Prisons sent five more inmates to the hospital.

---

Litigation

• Battle v. Mims, No. 5:23-cv-00487 (M.D. Ga.), filed December 6, 2023; terminated December 8, 2023. No outcome amount recorded.
• Collins v. Jones, No. 5:25-cv-00451 (M.D. Ga.), filed October 15, 2025; pending as of GPS records.
• Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, No. 1:25-cv-03191 (N.D. Ga.), filed June 6, 2025; terminated March 30, 2026. No outcome amount recorded.
• Robert M Taylor III v. Piedmont Healthcare Inc, No. 1:24-cv-00019 (S.D. Ga.), filed February 16, 2024; pending as of GPS records.
• Taylor v. University Health Services Inc, No. 1:23-cv-00047 (S.D. Ga.), filed April 19, 2023; terminated December 14, 2023. No outcome amount recorded.
• Owners Insurance Company v. Anderson, No. 4:16-cv-00368 (M.D. Ga.), filed November 22, 2016; terminated January 17, 2018. No outcome amount recorded.
• In Re Wright Medical Technology Inc Conserve Hip Implant Products, No. 1:12-md-02329 (N.D. Ga.), filed February 27, 2012; terminated June 26, 2018. No outcome amount recorded.

---

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides investigation (homicide cause-of-death data for Valdosta, Central, Wilcox, and Smith State Prisons); reporting on Smith State Prison contraband scheme, gun-inside-prison incident, staffing crisis, and allegation that the "now-former warden" accepted cash payments; Operation Skyhawk reporting on Valdosta officer arrests; reporting on Wilcox mental health failures; reporting on lawmakers and GDC reform
• The Marshall Project — Reporting on GDC understaffing, Smith State Prison conditions, decomposing body discovery, and officer working conditions
• GPS records — Deaths-during-tenure table; positions table; intel events log
• CourtListener / federal court records — Battle v. Mims (GAMD 5:23-cv-00487); Collins v. Jones (GAMD 5:25-cv-00451); Daker v. Oliver (GAND 1:25-cv-03191); Taylor v. Piedmont Healthcare (GASD 1:24-cv-00019); Taylor v. University Health Services (GASD 1:23-cv-00047); Owners Insurance v. Anderson (GAMD 4:16-cv-00368); In Re Wright Medical Technology (GAND 1:12-md-02329)
• In These Times — Reporting on Georgia prison strike allegations (conditions at Smith State Prison)
• Solitary Watch — Reporting on Telfair State Prison tactical officer allegations and heat shutoff

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 6, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.