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Reynolds, Shavari
Status: active
Profile written June 28, 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
Shavari Reynolds began her career with the Georgia Department of Corrections as a correctional officer at Burruss Correctional Training Center in 2013. Over the following decade, she held roles in community supervision and as a behavioral health counselor before returning to the prison system at the Special Management Unit (SMU)—Georgia’s maximum-security facility. She served there as a behavioral health counselor in 2021 and 2024, then as a correctional unit manager in 2025. On April 16, 2026, Reynolds became the Deputy Warden of Security at the SMU. GPS records attribute one death to a facility during her leadership tenure, occurring at the SMU while she held that deputy warden post.What happened on their watch
Reynolds assumed the role of Deputy Warden of Security at the Special Management Unit on April 16, 2026. At that time, the SMU was under sustained federal scrutiny. A 2019 settlement over solitary-confinement conditions had called for major reforms, but GDC officials repeatedly failed to comply, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In April 2024, U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell issued a contempt order, finding that the agency had made false statements, backdated records, and stalled compliance until the injunction’s term neared expiration. The AJC further reported that a Department of Justice investigation, released in October 2024, described conditions in Georgia prisons as inhumane, and that the GDC had obstructed federal investigators by restricting access and hastily repairing buildings before visits.On May 30, 2026—roughly six weeks into Reynolds’ tenure—32-year-old Antony Ramon Penick died at the facility, per GPS records. The death is categorized under cause code 6; no additional details on the circumstances are provided in the available records.
During the same period, the AJC documented broader systemic failures at the SMU and across the GDC. Reporting revealed that officials had falsified prisoner review forms, falsely claimed required out-of-cell time was being provided, and, in one instance, listed a deceased inmate as attending recreation after his death. The AJC also detailed allegations of mishandled PREA investigations, the obstruction of DOJ access, and the notorious case of Arthur Lee Cofield Jr., who used a contraband cellphone from inside the SMU to steal $11 million from a billionaire’s account. Reynolds stepped into leadership of a facility already marked by these patterns, and Penick’s death occurred under her watch.
Litigation
No lawsuits name Shavari Reynolds as a defendant.Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — investigative reporting on the SMU settlement contempt order, DOJ findings of inhumane conditions, falsified records, and the Cofield contraband cellphone scheme (multiple articles, 2024–2026).
- GPS records — employment timeline, death attribution, and incident data for Antony Ramon Penick.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden of Security | SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT | 2026-04-16 → present |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT | 2025-01-01 → present |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 3 | SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT | 2024-01-01 → 2024-12-31 |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 3 | 2022-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 2 | SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT | 2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31 |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 1 | 2020-01-01 → 2020-12-31 | |
| COMMUNITY SUPERVISION OFC 2 | BURRUSS C.T.C | 2019-01-01 → 2019-12-31 |
| COMMUNITY SUPERVISION OFC 2 | 2018-01-01 → 2018-12-31 | |
| COMMUNITY SUPERVISION OFC 1 | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL OFFICER 2 | BURRUSS C.T.C | 2016-01-01 → 2017-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER(WL) | BURRUSS C.T.C | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | BURRUSS C.T.C | 2013-01-01 → 2013-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
1 people died at facilities under Reynolds, Shavari's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-30 | ANTONY RAMON PENICK | 32 | SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT | Deputy Warden of Security |
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