Spann, James Clarence

Tenure Summary

James Clarence Spann began his GDC career as a counselor at Autry State Prison in 2004, rose through behavioral health and chief counselor roles at Calhoun State Prison (2009) and Wilcox State Prison (2015), and crossed into facility leadership as Deputy Warden at Wilcox (2016–2019) and Autry (2020). He has served as a facility-lead Warden continuously since 2021, holding that rank at Burruss Correctional Training Center (2021–2022), Lee State Prison (2023–early 2024), and Ware State Prison (October 2024–present, now titled Warden 3). GPS records show 57 deaths attributed to facilities during Spann's leadership-tier tenures across those postings, including at least 10 classified as homicides (cause category 3). One federal civil lawsuit naming him as a defendant is pending as of this writing.

What Happened on Their Watch

Autry State Prison — Deputy Warden (2020)
Spann held the Deputy Warden role at Autry during calendar year 2020. GPS records attribute eight deaths to the facility during that period, all classified under cause category 6 (non-homicide). Decedents ranged in age from 22 to 80, with a cluster of five deaths occurring between February and May 2020. No homicide classifications appear in the Autry death records for this tenure. Separately, GPS records note that Autry State Prison experienced a Legionella bacteria contamination in its water system in June 2023 — after Spann had departed — that required facility closure and infrastructure upgrades.

Burruss Correctional Training Center — Warden (2021–2022)
GPS records attribute one death to Burruss during Spann's tenure as Warden: Robert Carey Seymour, 58, who died March 9, 2022, classified under cause category 6.

Lee State Prison — Warden (January 2023–early 2024)
GPS records attribute two deaths to Lee State Prison during Spann's warden tenure: Christopher Aaron Godfrey, 40, who died January 16, 2024, and Daniel Emmett Ivey, 26, who died February 15, 2024, both classified under cause category 6. Spann's position records at Lee run through a September 2023 title transition and continue into early 2024.

Ware State Prison — Warden (January 2024–present)
Spann assumed the Warden role at Ware State Prison in January 2024 and was elevated to Warden 3 by 2025. GPS records attribute 46 deaths to Ware during his tenure there, spanning January 2024 through February 2026. Of those, at least eight are classified as homicides (cause category 3):

• Christopher Michael Taylor, 33, died May 28, 2024 — according to the AJC Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation, cause of death was a stab wound to the torso.
• Samuel Keith Ellis, 31, died August 1, 2024 — per the AJC investigation, cause of death was multiple sharp force injuries; GPS intel events show three inmates were involved.
• Leonardo Lamont Anderson, 49, died April 20, 2024 — per the AJC investigation, cause of death was multiple stab wounds, listed as assault by other with sharp object.
• Barry Lynn Rutherford, 36, died May 25, 2025 — GPS records note "Homicide (Hole)."
• Henry A. Hamilton, 79, died May 9, 2025 — GPS records note "Homicide."
• Christopher Allen Barrett, 46, died December 1, 2025 — a user report submitted to GPS alleges Barrett was killed by his cellmate while housed in segregation ("the hole"); the report notes his GDC record was subsequently removed or hidden from the agency's public website.
• Christopher Henry, 48, died February 12, 2026 — classified cause category 3; GPS records include GDC data showing Henry was a white male, 6'1", 178 lbs, whose major offense was aggravated assault.

The remaining deaths at Ware during Spann's tenure are classified under cause categories 1 and 6, including Freddie Calloway (esophageal cancer with metastasis, January 2025) and Demarcus McClarin (end-stage non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, January 2025).

The AJC reported that ten inmates were killed at Ware State Prison between July 2020 and August 2024, with multiple inmates involved in several of those homicides, according to GDC incident reports. Georgia Public Broadcasting reported the allegation of Narissa Wright that no counts or welfare checks were conducted at Ware, allowing her son's body to go undiscovered for days. GPS relay intelligence reports flagged multiple stabbing incidents at Ware in early 2026, including events on approximately April 2, April 8, April 19, April 21, and April 26, 2026, several resulting in lockdowns; the DOJ, per the AJC and WALB, found that Georgia deliberately underreports prison homicides and that less than 6% of incidents involving weapons were forwarded for investigation system-wide.

A broader systemic backdrop applies to Spann's Ware tenure: the DOJ issued a report finding Georgia's gang-run prisons were "riddled with regular violence and sexual assault," per the AJC. The AJC also reported that the GDC publicly described a major August 1, 2020 incident at Ware — which occurred before Spann's warden tenure there — as merely a "disturbance," while internal records describe hostage-taking, escape attempts, assaults, and use of 33 homemade weapons. That incident preceded Spann's arrival at Ware but is part of the documented institutional history of the facility he now leads.

Litigation

• Jacobs v. Georgia Department of Corrections, No. 4:25-cv-00111, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia — filed March 26, 2025; status: pending; no outcome amount recorded. (Source: CourtListener)

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — AJC Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation (multiple homicide reports, Ware State Prison; systemic reporting on GDC violence and underreporting)
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — GDC transparency reporting (Ware State Prison August 2020 disturbance characterization)
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — smuggling/drug evidence reporting (Calhoun State Prison; systemic GDC investigative failures)
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia prison homicides outpacing prior year (2025 reporting; systemic violence data)
• Georgia Public Broadcasting — DOJ deliberate indifference report coverage; Narissa Wright allegation regarding Ware State Prison welfare checks
• WALB — DOJ findings on homicide underreporting, EMS delays, Calhoun State Prison dehydration death, classification failures
• National Today — Willie Andrew Willis Jr. death at Calhoun State Prison; federal report findings on emergency response delays
• GPS records — deaths during tenure, position history, cause categories, user-submitted death reports (Barrett, Rutherford, Hamilton)
• GPS relay intelligence reports — stabbing incidents at Ware State Prison (April 2026)
• CourtListener — Jacobs v. Georgia Department of Corrections, No. 4:25-cv-00111 (GAMD), filed March 26, 2025

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 10, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.