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Sailem, Tiffany C
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
Tiffany C. Sailem entered the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2006 as a Correctional Officer at Johnson State Prison, returning to that facility in the same role in 2015. She advanced through the ranks—serving as a Correctional Lieutenant from 2016 to 2020 and as a Correctional Unit Manager from 2021 to 2024—before being named Deputy Warden at Johnson State Prison in January 2025 and then Deputy Warden of Security in April 2025, the position she holds at this writing. GPS records attribute 25 in-custody deaths to Sailem’s leadership tenure at Johnson State Prison, all occurring between February 2025 and June 2026. She is also a named defendant in the pending federal lawsuit Wade v. Morgan, which arose from the 2021 killing of David Henegar by his cellmate at the same facility.What happened on their watch
Johnson State Prison — Deputy Warden / Deputy Warden of Security (2025–present) The first death recorded under Sailem’s deputy command was that of 38-year-old Justin Brandon Hulett on February 12, 2025, while she held the title of Deputy Warden. After her elevation to Deputy Warden of Security in April 2025, another 24 deaths occurred through June 2026, bringing the total to 25. The fatalities encompassed a mix of ages and recorded cause categories. At least four deaths—those of Michael Elias Peschel, Joseph Lamar Sanders, Phillip Lamar Byrd, and Paul Russell Brewster—are logged with cause category 3, which in GPS records tracks suspicious or violent deaths according to prisoner sources. Peschel, 36, died on March 14, 2026, after receiving 20 stab wounds from a cellmate who, per an inmate account, had recently confronted officers and should have been housed alone. Byrd, 46, died on January 18, 2026; prisoner reports cited by GPS allege he was beaten, locked outside in the cold, and later injected with drugs until he overdosed. The death of 30-year-old Martrese Jamon McKay on April 18, 2026, was assigned cause category 2; a Telegram source noted that initial talk of suicide was contradicted by a report that McKay collapsed suddenly. Another 14 deaths—including those of Dale Way (76), Jarvis Dontez Walker (39), and several men in their 60s through 80s—were coded as cause category 6, frequently associated with natural causes or undisclosed circumstances in GPS data. All death entries were derived from GDC monthly mortality reports, inmate and family tips, and a Georgia DOAS settlement ledger, according to GPS provenance notes.Sailem’s tenure coincided with a $4 million state settlement in April 2026 of a lawsuit over the October 2021 death of David Henegar—a case in which she is a named defendant. While that homicide predated her promotion, the settlement was finalized during her watch. An April 2026 Atlanta Journal-Constitution report on the resolution detailed allegations that officers ignored hours of screaming while Henegar was choked and stomped by a mentally ill cellmate. Broader facility conditions also surfaced: a December 2023 food safety inspection scored a failing 64/100, citing rat and roach infestations and broken kitchen equipment, and by April 2026, GPS records show multiple reports of contaminated food trays—linked to degraded dishwashing infrastructure—that were making incarcerated people ill. In July 2026, the facility held a ribbon-cutting for a new Medical Intensive Infirmary, a 4,800-square-foot modular unit that GDC said expanded medical capacity. Additionally, a 2024 account by former GDC CERT Commander Tyler Ryals described Johnson State Prison running with just four total staff on a Saturday, leaving single officers to manage entire buildings and forcing them to rely on inmate aides for restraint during an emergency.
Litigation
- Wade v. Morgan, No. 3:23-cv-00073 (S.D. Ga., filed Aug. 31, 2023) — Pending. Tiffany C. Sailem is named as a defendant in this suit over the October 16, 2021 cellmate killing of David Lamar Henegar at Johnson State Prison. The complaint alleges that officers and a prison manager failed to intervene despite prolonged screams. The state settled the estate’s claim for $4 million in March/April 2026; the case against individual defendants remains active, per CourtListener and AJC reporting.
Sources
- GPS records — death logs, position history, and facility-level death counts compiled from GDC monthly mortality reports, prisoner reports, and Georgia DOAS settlement ledgers.
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — multiple articles on the Henegar killing, the $4 million settlement, and staff inaction at Johnson State Prison (2025–2026).
- Tyler C. Ryals (YouTube channel) — former GDC CERT commander’s account of severe understaffing at Johnson State Prison in spring 2024.
- CourtListener — docket for Wade v. Morgan, No. 3:23-cv-00073.
- Georgia Department of Administrative Services — settlement ledger documenting payments for incidents at Johnson State Prison, including Henegar ($4M).
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden of Security | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2025-04-01 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| Unit Manager | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2025-01-01 → present |
| CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | 2021-01-01 → 2024-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | 2016-01-01 → 2020-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP) | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | JOHNSON STATE PRISON | 2006-01-01 → 2006-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3:23-cv-00073 | GASD | 2023-08-31 | pending |
Deaths attributed during tenure
24 people died at facilities under Sailem, Tiffany C's leadership.
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