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Sanford, Paul Anthony
Status: active
Profile written August 30, 2026
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
Paul Anthony Sanford entered the Georgia Department of Corrections as a corrections officer in 2015, held CSM lieutenant roles from 2016 through 2018, captain roles in 2019–2020, and unit manager roles in 2021–2022. In January 2023 he became deputy warden at Hancock State Prison, the posting that anchors the accountability record: GPS records attribute 16 deaths at Hancock State Prison to his facility-leadership tenure. GPS records list no lawsuits naming Sanford as a defendant. His Hancock tenure overlaps with Atlanta Journal-Constitution and U.S. Department of Justice accounts of severe understaffing, broken locks, and violence in Georgia prisons.What happened on their watch
Hancock State Prison — Deputy Warden, 2023 onward
Sanford held the deputy warden role at Hancock State Prison from January 1, 2023 through the records’ 2025 coverage, with an additional future-dated Hancock deputy warden entry in August 2026. The 16 deaths attributed to that tenure, by year, are: Roland Lamont Phillips (June 28, 2023), Francisco Melgar-Saldivar (Aug. 12, 2023), Timothy Dale Hicks (Aug. 22, 2023), Ralph Thompson (Oct. 8, 2024), Travon Montrell Walthour (Oct. 13, 2024), William Holeman and Prince Porter (both Jan. 30, 2025), John T Childree (Apr. 9, 2025), Corey Jose July (June 17, 2025), Brian Smith (July 24, 2025), Andre Rashad Weems (Sept. 9, 2025), Steven Monroe Wood (Jan. 25, 2026), Jaylin Bell (Feb. 6, 2026), Jerrod Johnson (Feb. 18, 2026), Jacorey Derrelle Pearson (Apr. 7, 2026), and Albert Chapa (July 30, 2026). GPS records categorize 11 of these as cause_category 3 and five as cause_category 6.The records and source attributions describe repeated sharp-force and blunt-force deaths. Per the AJC investigation, Phillips died of multiple sharp-force injuries, and Melgar-Saldivar’s death was caused by strangulation and blunt force injuries. July was stabbed in the prison yard on June 17, 2025; a Hancock County jury later convicted Vershaun Smith of malice murder in that killing, according to 41NBC. Walthour was stabbed to death, per reporting cited in GPS records. Wood died after an altercation described by the Union-Recorder as a beating in his cell. Johnson was fatally stabbed; Bell died following an altercation with a cellmate. For Weems, GPS research notes cite 13WMAZ, Union-Recorder, and 41NBC reporting that he was fatally stabbed and eight people were charged, with a grand jury no-billing.
AJC reporting in the GPS intel files alleges staff failed to act on Charles “Tristen” McKee’s repeated requests to be moved the day before he was killed by gang members. A claim filed against the state, as summarized by the AJC, alleges Melgar-Saldivar was not provided appropriate medical care after being attacked. Other AJC allegations state Hancock had a 73.5 percent correctional officer vacancy rate as of October 2024, leaving 49 officers for more than 1,100 prisoners. The 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report, as cited in the intel files, described violence, sexual assaults, and gang-run prisons in Georgia fueled by a culture of indifference.
The positions table also includes a one-day Deputy Warden entry at Washington State Prison dated November 22, 2023. No deaths are attributed to that one-day posting in the dataset.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation and related coverage of Hancock State Prison
- U.S. Department of Justice 2024 report, as cited by AJC and 41NBC
- 13WMAZ, 41NBC, WGXA, Union-Recorder, 11Alive, and WFXL reporting on Hancock and Washington State Prison incidents
- GDC official mortality data and GPS records
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden | HANCOCK STATE PRISON | 2026-08-27 → present |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | HANCOCK STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → present |
| Deputy Warden | WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | 2023-11-22 → 2023-11-22 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | 2021-01-01 → 2022-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL CAPTAIN | 2019-01-01 → 2020-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | 2016-01-01 → 2018-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
16 people died at facilities under Sanford, Paul Anthony's leadership.
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