Sailem, Tiffany C

Tenure Summary

Tiffany C. Sailem began her GDC career as a Correctional Officer at Johnson State Prison in 2006, returned to the same facility as a line officer in 2015, and steadily advanced through the ranks — Lieutenant (2016–2020), Correctional Unit Manager (2021–2024) — before being appointed Deputy Warden at Johnson State Prison in January 2025 and, per GPS records, transitioning to the Deputy Warden of Security title in April 2025. GPS records attribute 19 distinct individuals who died at Johnson State Prison during her tenure as a facility-deputy (January 2025–present), spanning cause categories that include homicide, apparent natural or other causes, and at least one case with a contested or unclear manner of death. The facility also carries a $4 million state settlement — reached on the eve of trial in April 2026 — tied to a 2021 cellmate killing that predates Sailem's deputy-warden appointment but whose litigation was active throughout her tenure.

What Happened on Their Watch

Johnson State Prison — Deputy Warden / Deputy Warden of Security (January 2025–present)

GPS records show 19 individuals died at Johnson State Prison while Sailem held a facility-deputy role. The deaths span January 2025 through April 2026. Several fall into cause category 3 (homicide or violence-related): Justin Brandon Hulett, 38, died February 12, 2025 — 13WMAZ reported a death investigation at Johnson SP, and his obituary confirms the location, per GPS research. Paul Russell Brewster, 48, died June 9, 2025, with GPS records noting "homicide." Joseph Lamar Sanders, 54, died January 27, 2026, per inmate reports cited in GPS records. Michael Elias Peschel, 36, died March 14, 2026 from what GPS records describe — sourced from a user report — as 20 stab wounds inflicted by his cellmate; the same report alleges the cellmate had engaged in a confrontation with officers during visitation two weeks prior and should have been housed alone. Marries McKay (born 1995), a Black male incarcerated at Johnson SP, died April 18, 2026, per GPS records (cause category 2). A second death on the same date — an unidentified individual — is recorded as cause category 6 with conflicting initial reports of suicide later contradicted by accounts that the person "just dropped dead," per an AI-classified Telegram relay; the cause remains under investigation per GPS records. The majority of the remaining deaths fall into cause category 6 (other/unspecified), including several older individuals: Dale Way, 76 (March 28, 2026); Calvin R. Norwood, 72 (December 30, 2025); Marc Charles Neermann, 69 (November 2, 2025); Aubrie Henley, 69 (October 5, 2025); Roger James, 68 (October 29, 2025); and Larry Sherall Richards, 86 (July 29, 2025). Younger men also appear in this category: Jarvis Dontez Walker, 39 (September 26, 2025); Joseph Wayne Clayton, 32 (July 12, 2025); and Anthony Shivers, 41 (February 11, 2026, cause category 5).

The facility's broader record during the period overlapping Sailem's unit-manager and deputy-warden tenures includes additional documented incidents. Per GPS records, Johnson SP received a failing food safety inspection score of 64/100 in December 2023, with rats, roaches, and broken kitchen equipment documented; a GPS source report from April 2026 alleges ongoing unsanitary food tray conditions with photographic support. An escape occurred at Johnson SP on April 5, 2023, with no GDC news release issued, per GPS records. Homicides recorded at the facility before Sailem's deputy-warden appointment — including Donald Prescott Lee, 41 (blunt force trauma, November 2023), Michael Page, 53 (June 2023), and Kenneth Adam Robinson, 50 (August 2024) — occurred while she held the unit-manager title, a unit-supervisor accountability tier.

The most extensively documented case at the facility is the 2021 death of David Lamar Henegar, 44, who died October 16, 2021 — during Sailem's unit-manager tenure — from manual strangulation and blunt force trauma. Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a lawsuit alleged that Henegar was housed with a mentally ill cellmate, Antone Hinton-Leonard, who had previously attacked him; that staff failed to act on repeated reports about Hinton-Leonard's mental health and a prior choking incident one week before the fatal attack; that officers ignored Henegar's screams and the pleas of neighboring prisoners during a five-hour beating; and that Henegar was held past his scheduled release date due to an administrative delay. The AJC reported in April 2026 that Georgia paid $4 million to settle the case on the eve of trial.

Litigation

• Wade v. Morgan, No. 3:23-cv-00073 (U.S. District Court, Southern District of Georgia), filed August 31, 2023 — pending as of GPS records; Sailem listed as a defendant. No settlement amount recorded.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on David Henegar death, cellmate allegations, and $4 million settlement (April 2026); Johnson SP homicide list
• 13WMAZ — Johnson State Prison death investigation (Justin Hulett, February 2025), per GPS research notes
• smallsfuneralhome.com — Justin B. Hulett obituary, per GPS research notes
• GPS records (user reports GPS-DEATH-2026-EE37B, GPS-DEATH-2026-3942C, GPS-DEATH-2026-E815C, GPS-DEATH-2026-E6DCB, GPS-DEATH-2026-74DDE, GPS-260419-49FA28; case submission ID 129) — deaths and facility conditions at Johnson State Prison
• CourtListener — Wade v. Morgan, No. 3:23-cv-00073 (GASD)
• GPS intel events — Johnson SP food safety inspection failure (December 2023); Kenneth Adam Robinson homicide (August 2024); David Henegar death and settlement records

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 10, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.