Sanford, Paul Anthony

Tenure Summary

What happened on their watch

In 2024, Travon Walthour, 29, was stabbed to death on October 13, as reported by 13WMAZ. Two other deaths that year — Ralph Thompson, 53, and Timothy Dale Hicks, 37 — are listed with undefined causes in GPS records. Violence accelerated in 2025. A gang‑related altercation on January 30 left William Holeman, 34, and Prince Porter, 38, dead in the same dorm; Porter had a puncture wound, while Holeman’s cause was recorded as “undetermined/awaiting autopsy,” according to a GDC mortality report released for that month. On June 17, 2025, Corey Jose July, 33, was stabbed to death in the prison yard, per 13WMAZ, WGXA, and the Union‑Recorder. Andre Rashad Weems, 36, was fatally stabbed on September 9, 2025; eight people were charged with malice murder, though a grand jury later no‑billed them, according to 13WMAZ and the Union‑Recorder.

Three more deaths occurred in early 2026. Jaylin Bell, 32, died after an altercation with his roommate in a segregation unit — a 41NBC story and a Telegram inmate report both describe the killing. Steven Monroe Wood, 54, was beaten to death by his cellmate; the Union‑Recorder detailed his transfer to an Augusta hospital, where he died. Jerrod Johnson, 27, was fatally stabbed before EMS arrived, per GPS records. The most recent attributed death is Jacorey Derrelle Pearson, 36, on April 7, 2026, for which a cause has not yet been made public.

These deaths coincided with severe resource deficits. The Atlanta Journal‑Constitution reported that by October 2024, 73.5% of correctional officer positions at Hancock were vacant — just 49 officers covering more than 1,100 incarcerated people. A 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report, cited by the AJC, described Georgia’s prisons, including Hancock, as marked by staggering violence, sexual assaults, and a culture of indifference. GPS records also note that in January 2026, five incarcerated people were stabbed in a single incident at Hancock, two airlifted to hospitals.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal‑Constitution — Phillips and Melgar‑Saldivar homicide details; staffing vacancy figures; DOJ report findings.
• 13WMAZ, Union‑Recorder, 41NBC, WGXA — reports on Walthour, Weems, July, Bell, and Wood.
• Georgia Department of Corrections mortality report (January 2025 PDF) — Holeman and Porter cause‑of‑death entries.
• GPS records — death counts, incident dates, and cause categories for all 15 attributed deaths.
• U.S. Department of Justice (2024 investigation) — systemic violence and indifference in Georgia prisons.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 9, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.