Sanford, Paul Anthony

Tenure Summary

What happened on their watch

In 2024, two deaths were logged: Ralph Thompson, 53 (cause undetermined), on October 8, and Travon Walthour, 29, on October 13. Walthour was stabbed to death, and GDC incident data cited by the AJC indicated four other prisoners were involved. The next year saw a sharp acceleration. On January 30, 2025, William Holeman and Prince Porter were found dead in the same dorm after what the AJC described as gang-related violence; Porter had a single puncture wound, while Holeman had no visible marks, and a third prisoner was hospitalized. Later in 2025, John T. Childree, 60, died on April 9 (cause undetermined); on June 17, Corey Jose July, 33, was stabbed to death in the prison yard; Brian Smith, 30, died July 24 (cause undetermined); and on September 9, Andre Weems, 36, was fatally stabbed, prompting prosecutors to bring eight malice murder charges, though a grand jury later no-billed the case. In January 2026, Steven Monroe Wood, 54, was beaten by his cellmate and died in a hospital; on February 6, Jaylin Bell, 32, was killed by his roommate; on February 18, Jerrod Johnson, 27, was fatally stabbed; and on April 5, Jacorey Pearson died under circumstances that remain under investigation by the GDC Office of Professional Standards. Across this stretch, GPS records officially attribute 15 deaths to Hancock State Prison during Sanford’s time as deputy warden. The cause category for the majority is homicide; several are listed as undetermined.

The deaths unfolded amid documented systemic failures. Per the AJC, Hancock’s correctional officer vacancy rate reached 73.5% in October 2024, leaving 49 officers for a population of over 1,100. Consultants had already found emergency-level staffing shortages at 20 of Georgia’s 34 prisons, making basic protocols impossible, and the AJC reported that broken cell locks allowed prisoners to roam and gang members to intimidate others. A 2024 DOJ investigation into the 2022 stabbing death of Charles “Tristen” McKee at Hancock found that staff did not act on his repeated requests to be moved, and a lawsuit alleged he was placed in a dorm with known gang members hostile to LGBTQ inmates. After Sanford’s arrival, the AJC documented a September 2024 gang assault that resulted in discipline for seven prisoners, and in January 2025 five more inmates were stabbed, two airlifted to hospitals. The U.S. Department of Justice’s statewide findings of gang-run prisons and a culture of indifference remained the backdrop for every death recorded during Sanford’s watch.

Litigation

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — multiple homicide reports, DOJ investigation summaries, staffing data, and lawsuit allegations during Sanford’s tenure at Hancock State Prison
• 13WMAZ, 41NBC, Union-Recorder — individual coverage of inmate deaths at Hancock (e.g., Andre Weems, Corey July, Steven Wood, Jaylin Bell)
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 findings on violence, sexual assault, and gang control in Georgia prisons
• GPS records — position history, death counts, and case notes for deceased individuals at Hancock State Prison

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 31, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.