Home › Intelligence › Personnel Accountability › Sampson, Gregory L
Sampson, Gregory L
Status: active
Profile written August 23, 2026
Salary
$100,951
2025 · state payroll
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
Gregory L. Sampson has held Georgia Department of Corrections posts since at least 2006, beginning as a correctional officer at Rutledge State Prison and later serving as sergeant, lieutenant, assistant superintendent, and correctional superintendent before moving into wardenships. According to GPS records, 50 deaths are attributed to facility-leadership tenures held by Sampson: 23 at Macon State Prison, 18 at Dooly State Prison, 6 at Central State Prison, and 3 at Metro Reentry Facility. A lawsuit, Mcneal v. Sampson, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.What happened on their watch
Central State Prison (2021–June 2023)
Sampson served as Correctional Superintendent at Central State Prison in 2021 and as Warden from November 2021 until June 2023. GPS records attribute six deaths to his Central State leadership tenure. The available sample lists Michael Allen Stegall (Dec. 6, 2021), Daniel Tyler Ball (May 2, 2022), Ronald Elbert Bryant (Apr. 11, 2022), Jerry H. Page (Jan. 11, 2023), Trong Nghia Tran (Jan. 12, 2023), and Clifford Oby Booth (Feb. 15, 2023). Five are listed under cause category 6; Stegall’s death is coded as suicide in GDC’s own classification, per the UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project custodial mortality dataset cited in GPS records. GPS intel records associated with Central State Prison include Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporting of DOJ findings that Hollis Alan Bryant was stabbed to death and that Marquis L. Johnson was stabbed in a prison barbershop, as well as Georgia Public Broadcasting reporting that severe staff shortages had allowed gangs to gain influence and increased danger inside state prisons.Dooly State Prison (2023–Jan. 31, 2025)
Sampson served as Warden 1/Warden at Dooly State Prison from 2023 until January 31, 2025. GPS records attribute 18 deaths to his Dooly tenure. The sample includes Willie Delane Snipes, Roy Mason Morris, Chad Taylor Roadifer, Joel Lamar Long, Willie Frank Garrett, Brian Lee Wainwright, Raquon Javeyonte Tucker, Dwight Junior Lance, Ricky Lee Denney, Horace Rico Mosley, Carlito Omar Soldiew-Acosta, Terry J. Davis, Zeary Davante Davis, Ancion Leroy Wallace, Thomas Adrian Chamblee, David Smith, Michael Hutchins, and Joshua Parrott. Homicides are listed for Roadifer (delayed complications of blunt force head trauma, per the AJC), Wainwright (per the AJC), Zeary Davis (confirmed as homicide by inmate Qwinterrious Dodson in a GDC ORR report), and Parrott (homicide due to strangulation, per a GDC January 2025 mortality PDF). The AJC also reported that a coroner alleged Soldiew-Acosta may have been dead more than 24 hours before his body was found. During Sampson’s Dooly posting, a June 2024 GDC search found methamphetamine packages hidden in a cadet’s pants, per GPS records; that cadet, Julius Deshawn Williams Jr., was later sentenced for attempting to smuggle 640 grams of methamphetamine into the prison.Macon State Prison (Feb. 1, 2025–Jan. 15, 2026)
Sampson served as Warden at Macon State Prison from February 1, 2025 until January 15, 2026. GPS records attribute 23 deaths to this tenure. The sample runs from Marquel Smith (Feb. 14, 2025) through Gregory Brent Scott (Jan. 1, 2026) and Joe Dywane Rayton (Jan. 2, 2026). Homicides or reported homicides in the sample include Smith, D’Andrius Brown (Mar. 23, 2025, “in the hole”), Sanchez Jackson (June 19, 2025), Lukas Lance Way (June 22, 2025, “Hole”), Xavier Anthony Adams (July 22, 2025), Pierre Cedric Scott (Aug. 22, 2025, “in the hole by roommate”), and Marquis Young (Oct. 22, 2025). Two deaths are listed as suicides: Cassiem Mahlon Johnson (Aug. 25, 2025) and Calvin Earl Noble (Aug. 26, 2025). The remaining Macon sample deaths are recorded under cause category 6. Macon State Prison entered Sampson’s tenure with documented staffing shortages; the AJC reported that about two-thirds of correctional officer positions were unfilled as of October 2024. GPS intel records also tie Macon State Prison to contraband-cellphone drug trafficking cases, including that of Devito Duran Young, who later pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges.Metro Reentry Facility (Jan. 2025; Jan. 16, 2026–present)
Sampson held a one-month Warden 3 posting at Metro Reentry Facility in January 2025, then returned as Warden on January 16, 2026. GPS records attribute three deaths to Metro Reentry during his tenure: Donald Woods (Jan. 31, 2026), Samuel Dennis Hunt (Mar. 1, 2026), and Cedric Clement Pierce (Apr. 13, 2026), all listed under cause category 6. A separate GPS incident record describes Silas Westbrook dying at Metro Reentry on January 17, 2026 after a medical emergency upon transfer; Westbrook is not included in the three deaths_by_facility total.Litigation
- Mcneal v. Sampson, No. 5:26-cv-00039, filed January 27, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia; status pending, no disposition listed. (Source: CourtListener)
Sources
- GPS structured personnel and mortality records — career positions, death counts, incident and intel records
- CourtListener — Mcneal v. Sampson docket
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — homicide investigations, DOJ-related reporting, and staffing coverage
- Georgia Public Broadcasting — December 2023 reporting on deaths, staffing shortages, and prison conditions
- WGXA — Dooly State Prison methamphetamine smuggling case
- 13WMAZ — Macon State Prison drug trafficking case and Central State Prison incidents
- GDC January 2025 mortality PDF via GPS records — Joshua Parrott cause of death
- UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project custodial mortality dataset via GPS records — Stegall classification
- GDC ORR/EAH report via GPS records — Zeary Davis homicide confirmation
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Warden | METRO REENTRY FACILITY | 2026-01-16 → present |
| Warden | MACON STATE PRISON | 2025-02-01 → present |
| WARDEN 3 | METRO REENTRY FACILITY | 2025-01-01 → present |
| WARDEN 1 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2024-12-31 |
| Warden 1 | DOOLY STATE PRISON | 2023-11-22 → 2023-11-22 |
| Warden | DOOLY STATE PRISON | 2023-07-01 → 2025-01-31 |
| WARDEN 1 | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 | |
| Warden | CENTRAL STATE PRISON | 2021-11-01 → 2023-06-30 |
| CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT | CENTRAL STATE PRISON | 2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT | 2020-01-01 → 2020-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT | 2017-01-01 → 2019-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 | |
| CORRECTION OPERATIONS | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 | |
| Sergeant | CLAYTON TRANSITIONAL CENTER | 2014-01-01 → 2014-12-31 |
| Sergeant | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | 2013-01-01 → 2013-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | 2006-01-01 → 2006-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:26-cv-00039 | GAMD | 2026-01-27 | pending |
Deaths attributed during tenure
50 people died at facilities under Sampson, Gregory L's leadership.
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