Sailem, Tiffany C

Tenure Summary

Tiffany C. Sailem's GDC career spans two decades, almost entirely at Johnson State Prison. According to the personnel records in GPS's index, Sailem began as a correctional officer at Johnson in 2006, returned as a corrections officer there in 2015 ($29,840.40), and was subsequently promoted to correctional lieutenant (2016–2020 pay records), correctional unit manager (2021–2024 pay records), and a Johnson-based Unit Manager for the first quarter of 2025. Since April 1, 2025, Sailem has held the post of Deputy Warden of Security at Johnson State Prison, the role listed as "role at time" on every death record in the sample; a separate personnel record dated Aug. 27, 2026 again lists the title Deputy Warden at Johnson.

The headline accountability figure in GPS's records is 24 deaths attributed to Sailem's leadership tenures, all 24 at Johnson State Prison. No news coverage in the records names Sailem directly. Sailem is listed as a defendant in one federal lawsuit that remains pending in the court record.

What happened on their watch

Johnson State Prison — Correctional Unit Manager / Unit Manager (2023 and Nov. 22, 2023 records; Jan. 1 – Mar. 31, 2025). The records document these as leadership postings at Johnson State Prison. No further claims or reports attached to these windows appear in the input.

Johnson State Prison — Deputy Warden of Security (Apr. 1, 2025 – present). All 24 deaths attributed to Sailem's leadership tenure fall at Johnson State Prison, and each sampled record lists "Deputy Warden of Security" as the role held on the date of death. The sampled deaths run from May 4, 2025 (Robert Barnwell, 80) to June 23, 2026 (Ernest Perez, 61), and include Martrese Jamon McKay, 30, on Apr. 18, 2026. Ages in the sample range from 30 to 86, with a heavy concentration of decedents in their 60s through 80s. GPS's records code causes by category; in the sample, 17 of 24 carry category 6, five carry category 3, one category 2 and one category 5. The records supplied to GPS do not include a key mapping those categories to specific causes, so no cause of death is asserted here.

Two clusters of contemporaneous allegations attach to this period. On Apr. 10, 2026, a source submission to GPS alleged ongoing unsanitary food service at Johnson — trays with visible residue in compartment seams, failed dishwashing equipment forcing a manual chemical-dunk process, unsuccessful internal efforts to fix it, and incarcerated people reportedly sickened as a result. On Apr. 6, 2026, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on the death of David Henegar, including allegations that Antone Hinton-Leonard hogtied, beat and choked Henegar over five hours; that staff ignored Henegar's screams and other prisoners' pleas for help; that staff failed to act on repeated reports about Hinton-Leonard's mental health problems and a prior choking incident a week earlier; and that officials kept Henegar in custody past his scheduled release date due to an administrative delay. Hinton-Leonard was charged with murder and was awaiting trial, scheduled for later in April 2026, per the records. The AJC also reported that Georgia paid $4 million to end the prisoner's death case on the eve of trial, according to attorneys. These are allegations reported by the AJC, not adjudicated findings against Sailem.

On July 21, 2026, GDC held a ribbon-cutting for a new 20-bed Medical Intensive Infirmary at Johnson State Prison, part of a statewide modular construction program that added 524 beds across Dodge, Lee, Montgomery, Hays and Johnson.

Litigation

• Wade v. Morgan, No. 3:23-cv-00073 (S.D. Ga.), filed Aug. 31, 2023 — status pending in the court record; Sailem is listed as a defendant. At filing, Sailem was serving as a Correctional Unit Manager; a Nov. 22, 2023 personnel record places Sailem at Johnson State Prison in that title.
• The AJC reported (Apr. 6, 2026) that Betty Wade and David Jacob Henegar filed suit against three corrections officers and a prison manager following Henegar's death, alleging staff could have prevented it. The records do not state that Sailem is a named defendant in that matter.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — April 2026 coverage of the David Henegar death, the $4M payment reported by attorneys, the murder charge against Antone Hinton-Leonard, and the family's allegations of ignored warnings and pleas for help at Johnson State Prison.
• Court records (CourtListener docket) — Wade v. Morgan, No. 3:23-cv-00073, S.D. Ga., filed Aug. 31, 2023, pending.
• GPS case-submission record — Apr. 10, 2026 allegation of unsanitary food service and dishwashing failure at Johnson State Prison.
• Georgia Department of Corrections event records — July 21, 2026 ribbon-cutting for the 20-bed Medical Intensive Infirmary at Johnson State Prison and the statewide modular bed program.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Sep 23, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.