Sampson, Gregory L

Tenure Summary

Gregory L. Sampson entered GDC as a Correctional Officer at Rutledge State Prison in 2006 and rose steadily through the ranks — Sergeant, Lieutenant, Assistant Superintendent, Superintendent — before reaching the Warden level in 2022. GPS records show he has held facility-lead accountability roles continuously from 2021 through the present, spanning Central State Prison, Dooly State Prison, Macon State Prison, and Metro Reentry Facility. Across those postings, GPS records attribute 52 deaths to facilities during his tenure as the lead official, including at least 17 classified as homicides per GPS case records and AJC investigation findings. Two federal civil rights lawsuits naming Sampson as a defendant are currently pending.

---

What Happened on Their Watch

Central State Prison — Correctional Superintendent (2021)

Sampson held the Superintendent role at Central State Prison for the 2021 calendar year. GPS records attribute six deaths to the facility during that period. One, Joshua Carl Lester (age 34), is documented as a homicide — cause of death listed as a stab wound to the chest — per the AJC Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation. According to the AJC, a separate incident at Central State Prison involved Hollis Alan Bryant being stabbed to death, with three other prisoners criminally charged; a DOJ report is cited as the source of that allegation. The AJC also reports that Marquis L. Johnson was stabbed in the prison barbershop on December 8 and later died after cardiac arrest secondary to the stabbing, per the DOJ report. Georgia Public Broadcasting has reported that severe staff shortages systemwide allowed gang members to effectively run Georgia state prisons during this period, contributing to rising violence.

Dooly State Prison — Warden 1 (2023–2024)

Sampson served as Warden at Dooly State Prison from at least January 2023 through the end of 2024. GPS records attribute 20 deaths to the facility across those two years. Three are documented as homicides by the AJC Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation: Dimitri Merci Jackson (age 36, stab wound to chest, January 2023); Chad Taylor Roadifer (age 45, delayed complications of blunt force head trauma, October 2023); and Brian Lee Wainwright (age 59, January 2024). A GPS source reports that Zeary Davante Davis (age 31, September 2024) bled to death on the dorm floor — classified as a homicide in GPS records. The AJC alleges that a coroner found Carlito Omar Soldiew-Acosta may have been dead for more than 24 hours before his body was discovered. GPB reports that a family member alleges medical staff put a prisoner's treatment "on the back burner," contributing to his death from sepsis. During Sampson's tenure, a corrections officer cadet pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle 640 grams of methamphetamine into Dooly, per WGXA. An inmate allegedly operated a phone fraud scheme from inside the facility, with a source alleging staff were aware, per WALB. GPS records also document a January 2025 death initially classified as suicide and later reclassified as homicide by strangulation (Joshua Parrott), and a February 2025 death officially ruled suicide despite inmate reports of strangulation (Horario Philmore) — both occurring at Dooly during the transition period around Sampson's departure. Dooly was operating at 212% of its original 750-person design capacity, housing 1,593 people, with a reported 50% statewide correctional officer vacancy rate, per GPS event records.

Macon State Prison — Warden (February 1, 2025 – January 15, 2026)

Sampson was appointed Warden of Macon State Prison on February 1, 2025, per GDC announcement. GPS records attribute 24 deaths to the facility during his tenure there, including at least 10 classified as homicides. Confirmed homicides include: Marquel Smith (age 29, February 2025); D'Andrius Brown (age 30, March 2025, in the hole); Pierre Cedric Scott (age 41, August 2025, killed in the hole by a roommate, per GPS source); Calvin Earl Noble (age 25, August 2025, suicide by hanging in a single cell, per GPS source); Cassiem Mahlon Johnson (age 55, August 2025, suicide, per GPS source); Xavier Anthony Adams (age 40, July 2025); Lukas Lance Way (age 32, June 2025, hole); Sanchez Jackson (age 48, June 2025, stabbed to death — confirmed by family and reported by 13WMAZ, WGXA, and 41NBC); and Marquis Young (age 37, October 2025, per GPS direct report). The AJC reported that about two-thirds of correctional officer positions at Macon State Prison were unfilled as of October 2024, and the Macon County Coroner reported only five to eight officers staffing the entire facility when responding to deaths, per the AJC. A federal lawsuit alleges Bobby Edward Lee Jr. was strangled by a convicted murderer cellmate due to understaffing and indifference by prison officials, per the AJC. Another family alleges their son was placed in a cell with a known dangerous prisoner shortly before his scheduled release, per the AJC. The AJC further reports that four gang members ran past an officer to fatally stab a prisoner, indicating a failure to prevent the assault. Jackson's family alleges they received only a brief call from the warden about his death with a follow-up that never came, and that the investigator gave "short and vague" answers, per the AJC. A source told the AJC that as many as four men were packed into one cell, rotating spots to sleep.

Metro Reentry Facility — Warden (January 2025; January 16, 2026–present)

Sampson held a brief Warden 3 posting at Metro Reentry Facility in January 2025 before his Macon assignment, then returned as Warden on January 16, 2026. GPS records attribute two deaths to the facility during his current tenure: Donald Woods (age 65, January 31, 2026) and Samuel Dennis Hunt (age 64, March 1, 2026). The facility also received Silas Westbrook, who died there on January 17, 2026 after being transferred following a riot at Washington State Prison; the GDC's Office of Professional Standards opened an investigation into Westbrook's death, per GPS event records.

---

Litigation

• Banks v. Sampson, No. 1:25-cv-02981 (N.D. Ga.), filed May 30, 2025 — pending; no outcome reported.
• Mcneal v. Sampson, No. 5:26-cv-00039 (M.D. Ga.), filed January 27, 2026 — pending; no outcome reported.
• Fox v. Weeks Marine Inc, No. 4:22-cv-00054 (S.D. Ga.), filed March 7, 2022, closed October 3, 2022 — terminated; no outcome amount reported. (Note: Sampson appears as a named party; the case involves Weeks Marine Inc. and the connection to Sampson's GDC role is not established in the available records.)

---

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — AJC Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation; reporting on Macon State Prison staffing, homicides, and family allegations; reporting on Dooly State Prison coroner findings; reporting on systemic GDC staffing failures and contraband
• Georgia Public Broadcasting — reporting on statewide staffing shortages, gang control of prisons, and family notification failures; Dooly State Prison medical care allegation
• 13WMAZ — reporting on Sanchez Jackson stabbing death at Macon State Prison; Central State Prison inmate fight; Dooly State Prison gang-related fight
• WGXA — reporting on Sanchez Jackson death; Julius Deshawn Williams Jr. meth smuggling guilty plea at Dooly State Prison; Dooly gang-related fight
• 41NBC — reporting on Sanchez Jackson stabbing death at Macon State Prison
• WALB — reporting on phone fraud scheme operated from Dooly State Prison
• Solitary Watch — historical reporting on Macon State Prison conditions
• GPS Records / GPS Case Management — death records GPS-DEATH-2025-CD311, GPS-DEATH-2025-2EF74, GPS-DEATH-2025-54697, GPS-DEATH-2025-BEAF7, GPS-DEATH-2025-B834B, GPS-DEATH-2025-07A5E; incident relay reports for Dooly State Prison (April 2026)
• CourtListener — Banks v. Sampson, 1:25-cv-02981; Mcneal v. Sampson, 5:26-cv-00039; Fox v. Weeks Marine Inc, 4:22-cv-00054

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.