Sanford, Paul Anthony

Tenure Summary

Paul Anthony Sanford joined the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2015 as a correctional officer and rose steadily through the ranks — lieutenant (2016–2018), captain (2019–2020), unit manager (2021–2022) — before being appointed Deputy Warden at Hancock State Prison, where he has served continuously since January 2023. GPS records show 15 deaths attributed to Hancock State Prison during Sanford's tenure as Deputy Warden, spanning January 2023 through April 2026. The dominant cause category across those deaths is homicide (cause category 3), with at least nine deaths involving stabbing, beating, or other violent assault by fellow prisoners. The facility's conditions during this period were the subject of a 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report and multiple Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigations.

What Happened on Their Watch

Hancock State Prison — Deputy Warden (January 2023–present)

Sanford has held the Deputy Warden role at Hancock State Prison, a close-security facility housing more than 1,100 prisoners, throughout a period of documented, recurring lethal violence. GPS records show 15 deaths at the facility during his tenure. The first two occurred in mid-2023: Roland Lamont Phillips, 33, died June 28, 2023, from multiple sharp-force injuries — per the AJC Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation, he sustained 11 puncture wounds to the front torso and one to the neck, and a murder warrant was served against his cellmate. Francisco Melgar-Saldivar, 26, died August 12, 2023, from strangulation and blunt-force injuries; according to the AJC, a claim filed against the state alleges he was not provided appropriate medical care after being attacked by another prisoner. Two additional deaths in 2023 (Timothy Dale Hicks, 37, and Ralph Thompson, 53) are recorded under cause category 6 (non-homicide) with no further detail in GPS records.

Violence continued into 2024. Travon Montrell Walthour, 29, was stabbed to death on October 13, 2024; per GPS records citing 13WMAZ and the Human & Civil Rights Coalition of Georgia, four other prisoners were involved. Ralph Thompson, 53, died October 8, 2024 under cause category 6. The year 2025 brought a cluster of gang-related homicides: on January 30, William Holeman, 34, and Prince Porter, 38, were found dead in the same dormitory approximately 15–20 feet apart following gang violence, with a third prisoner hospitalized; per GPS records, Porter had a single puncture wound to the upper back and Holeman had no visible marks. Corey Jose July, 33, was stabbed to death in the prison yard on June 17, 2025, per 13WMAZ, FOX 5, WGXA, and the Union-Recorder. Andre Rashad Weems, 36, was fatally stabbed on September 9, 2025; per GPS records citing 13WMAZ, Union-Recorder, 41NBC, and FOX 5, eight prisoners were charged with malice murder, but a grand jury subsequently no-billed all eight. John T. Childree, 60, and Brian Smith, 30, died in April and July 2025, respectively, under cause category 6.

Into 2026, the violence continued at an accelerated pace. Steven Monroe Wood, 54, was discovered beaten in his cell on January 25, 2026; per the Union-Recorder, he was transported by ambulance to Washington County Regional Medical Center and later transferred to Wellstar MCG Health in Augusta, where he died. Jaylin Bell, 32, died February 6, 2026, following an altercation with his cellmate; per 41NBC, his body was sent to the GBI crime lab. Per a GPS Telegram relay report, the incident occurred in the G1 unit. Jerrod Johnson, 27, was fatally stabbed around 4:45 p.m. on February 18, 2026; per GPS records, EMS was called but Johnson died before they arrived. Jacorey Pearson (year of birth 1989) died April 5, 2026; the GDC's Office of Professional Standards opened an investigation, which GPS records show remains ongoing.

Overlapping this tenure, the AJC reported that Hancock held one of GDC's highest correctional officer vacancy rates — 73.5% of positions vacant as of October 2024, leaving approximately 49 officers for more than 1,100 prisoners. A 2024 DOJ report, cited by the AJC, described "stunning violence, rampant sexual assaults and gang-run prisons" in Georgia fueled by "a culture of indifference." Consultants retained by the state found staffing vacancies at 20 of 34 Georgia prisons had reached "emergency levels," with broken cell locks allowing prisoners to roam freely. The AJC also reported that a lawsuit alleges Charles "Tristen" McKee — killed at Hancock in May 2022, before Sanford's deputy warden tenure — had repeatedly asked staff to move him the day before his death, and that staff failed to act; a separate AJC report alleges prison officials placed Amanuel Selassie Geberyesus in a regular cell contrary to a counselor's advice after he expressed suicidal ideation, and he subsequently died by hanging. On January 12, 2026, five prisoners were stabbed at Hancock in a single incident, with two airlifted to hospitals. In January 2025, a Hancock County jury convicted prisoner Cleveland Gary for the 2022 machete killing of McKee.

Litigation

• In Re Equifax Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 1:17-md-02800 (N.D. Ga.), filed December 6, 2017, terminated April 13, 2022. GPS records list Sanford as a defendant in this multidistrict consumer data-breach litigation; no outcome amount is recorded. This matter is unrelated to his GDC role.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — AJC Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation; reporting on Hancock State Prison staffing vacancies, gang violence, and systemic GDC conditions (multiple dates, 2023–2026)
• Union-Recorder — reporting on deaths of Steven Wood (January 2026) and Corey Jose July (June 2025)
• 13WMAZ — reporting on deaths of Travon Walthour (October 2024), Andre Weems (September 2025), and Corey Jose July (June 2025)
• 41NBC — reporting on death of Jaylin Bell (February 2026) and Andre Weems (September 2025)
• FOX 5 / WGXA — reporting on deaths of Corey Jose July and Andre Weems
• Human & Civil Rights Coalition of Georgia / Between Community News — reporting on Travon Walthour
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 report on Georgia prison conditions (cited via AJC)
• GPS records — deaths-during-tenure data, intel reports, Telegram relay incident reports, and intel events at Hancock State Prison
• CourtListener / PACER — In Re Equifax Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 1:17-md-02800 (N.D. Ga.)

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 6, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.