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Reaves, Jessica
Status: active
Profile written August 9, 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
Jessica Reaves began her GDC career in 2015 as a Financial Ops Generalist and held a series of financial-staff roles through 2022. In January 2023 she was appointed Deputy Warden at Baldwin State Prison, a position she still holds. GPS records attribute 40 deaths to her tenure as a facility deputy at Baldwin—all at that one prison, spanning 2023 into 2026. No lawsuits name Reaves as a defendant, but the prison saw multiple high‑profile deaths, officer‑involved violence allegations, a federal gang indictment, and a staff homicide on her watch.What happened on their watch
Baldwin State Prison – Deputy Warden (January 2023 – present)
During Reaves’ deputy‑warden tenure, GPS documents 40 deaths at the facility. Among those whose causes are known, several were homicides. Johnny Lee Vaughn, 39, died on October 4 2023 from a stab wound to the torso after a fight involving multiple inmates, per the Atlanta Journal‑Constitution’s prison‑homicides investigation. Fredrick Louis Spears Jr., 27, was killed by a stab wound of the torso on May 2 2023, according to the same AJC sourcing. Henry Finley died in January 2025 of “homicide due to multiple puncture wounds,” as recorded in a GDC‑released mortality report for that month. Vincent Reshad Dyer, 50, was stabbed to death on August 21 2024. Many other deaths—including those of Artinez Ceasar, Richard Lyle Timmons, Ricky Carroll Mathis, and several men in their 60s and 70s—carry an undetermined or pending cause as of GPS records.
Medical‑neglect allegations also surface: Almir Harris, a 23‑year‑old man with autism and Type 1 diabetes, died on December 31 2024 from diabetic ketoacidosis; GPS intelligence records state he was “denied essential medical care” before death. Separately, Correctional Officer Robert Clark was assaulted with a homemade weapon by an inmate and died on October 1 2023, highlighting a volatile security environment that same year. In March 2023, inmate William Knight escaped from a work detail, and the facility became a focal point in a November 2023 federal indictment of 23 members of the Sex Money Murder gang for alleged murders, assaults, and contraband trafficking orchestrated from within the prison.
Contraband‑smuggling by staff was a documented problem: an AJC investigation found that at least 360 Georgia prison employees had been arrested since 2018 for bringing in drugs and cellphones. Baldwin’s own Lt. Tracey Wise was convicted for smuggling K‑2‑laced papers for a gang member. Lawsuits and allegations of direct officer violence also arose in 2025‑2026. Inmate Akeim Burgest sued in April 2026, claiming an officer stabbed him with a shank while a lieutenant watched, according to 13WMAZ; the mother of Joshua Emanuel Williams filed a January 2025 suit alleging he was negligently placed in a cell with a known stabber. Throughout Reaves’ deputieship, a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into violence and conditions in Georgia prisons—opened in 2021—remained ongoing.
Sources
- Georgia Prisoners’ Speak death‑tracking database – aggregate and individual death records
- Atlanta Journal‑Constitution – Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation; contraband‑and‑corruption reporting
- GDC January 2025 mortality report (official PDF release) – cause for Henry Finley
- 13WMAZ – reporting on the Akeim Burgest lawsuit
- GA Department of Administrative Services settlement ledger – state payouts at Baldwin State Prison
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| DEPUTY WARDEN | BALDWIN STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → present |
| FINANCIAL OPS GENERALIST 3 | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 | |
| FINANCIAL OPS GENERALIST 2 | 2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31 | |
| FINANCIAL OPS GENERALIST 1 | 2016-01-01 → 2020-12-31 | |
| FINANCIAL OPS GEN (AL) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
40 people died at facilities under Reaves, Jessica's leadership.
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