Home › Intelligence › Personnel Accountability › Smith, Tarmarshe A
Smith, Tarmarshe A
Status: active
Profile written August 2, 2026
Current Position
Southeast Regional Director
Salary
$118,802
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
Tarmarshe A. Smith began a career with the Georgia Department of Corrections as a correctional officer at Georgia State Prison in 2002. After a period in correctional administration, Smith returned to facility leadership as a deputy warden at Smith State Prison (2016–2017) and Calhoun State Prison (2018), before serving as warden at Calhoun in 2019. In January 2020, Smith became warden of Macon State Prison, a post he held until June 2023. GPS records attribute 36 deaths to Macon State Prison during Smith’s tenure as warden, all classified as “facility lead” accountability. Following his time at Macon, Smith was promoted to Assistant Regional Director for the Southeast in July 2023, later rising to Southeast Regional Director by 2025. His record includes at least ten federal civil‑rights lawsuits naming him as a defendant, many filed while he was warden at Macon.What happened on their watch
Smith State Prison (Deputy Warden, 2016‑2017)
No deaths were attributed to Smith State Prison during Smith’s two years as deputy warden. GPS records do not list any facility‑lead incidents, deaths, or lawsuits filed against him in that role during those years.Calhoun State Prison (Deputy Warden, 2018; Warden, 2019)
Smith’s leadership at Calhoun State Prison—first as deputy warden in 2018, then as warden 1 in 2019—likewise produced no recorded deaths. One federal lawsuit, Gilmore v. Georgia Department of Corrections (6:18‑cv‑00115, GASD, filed November 2018), names Smith as a defendant; the case was terminated in 2023 without a recorded monetary outcome.Macon State Prison (Warden, 2020‑2023)
Smith served as warden of Macon State Prison from January 2020 until June 2023. During these three‑and‑a‑half years, GPS records document 36 deaths at the facility—the entirety of the deaths attributed to his leadership career. According to an Atlanta Journal‑Constitution investigation, at least 14 of those deaths were homicides, including the stabbing deaths of Carlos Sabino Ramos (34), James Cornelius McLeroy (26), and Dan Brooks (50); the blunt‑force death of Kendrick Milike Brown (25); the strangulation of Bobby Edward Lee Jr. (38); and the sharp‑force killing of Carrington Jwon Frye (23). The AJC investigation noted that Frye’s mother alleged her son bled for more than half an hour before help arrived, and a federal lawsuit alleged that Bobby Edward Lee Jr. was placed in a cell with a convicted murderer despite his pleas for protection. A DOJ investigation into Georgia prisons found that at Macon, four gang members ran past an officer to a kitchen area and fatally stabbed a prisoner, underscoring what it called an “environment of fear and complacency.” Additional homicides during Smith’s tenure include the asphyxiation of Cody Dustin Silvers and the multiple sharp‑force death of David Travis Dennis. Multiple lawsuits were filed against Smith while he held the warden post, including Whiting v. Tarmarshe Smith (2021), Clayton v. Ward (2021), Clark v. Troutman (2022), Gillis v. Saldana (2022), and Cox v. Ward (2022). News reports also documented a major drug‑trafficking operation run from Macon State Prison by inmate Devito Duran Young, who later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl; the scheme was uncovered after Smith’s departure but operated during his wardenship, per federal plea documents.Litigation
- Mckenzie v. Oliver, 4:26‑cv‑00108 (GAND), filed Apr. 2026 – pending.
- Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, 1:25‑cv‑03191 (GAND), filed Jun. 2025 – terminated Mar. 2026.
- Tucker v. Holt, 5:24‑cv‑00360 (GAMD), filed Oct. 2024 – terminated Jun. 2025.
- Tucker v. Wellpath Llc, 5:24‑cv‑00215 (GAMD), filed Jul. 2024 – pending.
- Clark v. Troutman, 5:22‑cv‑00253 (GAMD), filed Jul. 2022 – terminated Sep. 2023.
- Gillis v. Saldana, 5:22‑cv‑00177 (GAMD), filed May 2022 – terminated Dec. 2024.
- Cox v. Ward, 5:22‑cv‑00008 (GAMD), filed Jan. 2022 – terminated Aug. 2023.
- Whiting v. Tarmarshe Smith, 1:21‑cv‑00973 (GAND), filed Mar. 2021 – terminated Sep. 2021.
- Clayton v. Ward, 1:21‑cv‑00025 (GAMD), filed Jan. 2021 – terminated Feb. 2022.
- Gilmore v. Georgia Department of Corrections, 6:18‑cv‑00115 (GASD), filed Nov. 2018 – terminated Jan. 2023.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — “Ga. prison homicides: a list of those killed in Georgia’s prison system” (AJC Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation), documenting multiple homicide deaths at Macon State Prison and family allegations of delayed care and unsafe housing.
- U.S. Department of Justice — investigation into Georgia prisons (2026 findings), citing systemic violence, understaffing, and specific fatal failures at Macon State Prison.
- 13WMAZ — coverage of Devito Duran Young’s drug‑trafficking operation pleaded out of Macon State Prison.
- The Marshall Project — report on severe understaffing and conditions inside Georgia prisons.
- GPS intelligence records — court‑docket listings, death records, and facility‑tenure data.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Southeast Regional Director | 2025-10-01 → present | |
| ASSISTANT REGION DIRECTOR | 2024-01-01 → present | |
| Assistant Regional Director for the Southeast | 2023-07-01 → present | |
| WARDEN 3 | MACON STATE PRISON | 2021-01-01 → 2023-06-30 |
| WARDEN 1 | MACON STATE PRISON | 2020-01-01 → 2020-12-31 |
| WARDEN 1 | CALHOUN STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → 2019-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | CALHOUN STATE PRISON | 2018-01-01 → 2018-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2017-12-31 |
| CORRECTION ADMINISTRATION | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 | |
| Correctional Officer | GEORGIA STATE PRISON | 2002-01-01 → 2002-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4:26-cv-00108 | GAND | 2026-04-28 | pending |
| 1:25-cv-03191 | GAND | 2025-06-06 | terminated |
| 5:24-cv-00360 | GAMD | 2024-10-16 | terminated |
| 5:24-cv-00215 | GAMD | 2024-07-03 | pending |
| 5:22-cv-00253 | GAMD | 2022-07-12 | terminated |
| 5:22-cv-00177 | GAMD | 2022-05-09 | terminated |
| 5:22-cv-00008 | GAMD | 2022-01-05 | terminated |
| 1:21-cv-00973 | GAND | 2021-03-08 | terminated |
| 1:21-cv-00025 | GAMD | 2021-01-29 | terminated |
| 6:18-cv-00115 | GASD | 2018-11-20 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
36 people died at facilities under Smith, Tarmarshe A's leadership.
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