Stewart, Veronica M

Tenure Summary

Veronica M. Stewart entered the Georgia Department of Corrections at Telfair State Prison in 2007 as a correctional officer and spent most of the next 17 years at that facility, moving through sergeant (2012), lieutenant (2014, and again 2016–2017), unit manager (2019–2020, after a 2018 unit-manager posting at Calhoun State Prison), and deputy warden (2021–2023). In 2024 she moved into facility leadership, serving as Warden 1 at Washington State Prison from January 1 to June 15, 2024 — while also listed as Special Assistant to the Warden at Telfair — and as Warden at Washington from June 16, 2024, a post she continues to hold.

GPS attributes 41 deaths to her leadership tenures: 25 at Washington State Prison and 16 at Telfair State Prison while she was deputy warden. The deadliest single episode was the January 2026 disturbance at Washington, which left four men dead and more than a dozen injured, and which GDC described as gang-affiliated; twelve incarcerated people were later charged with felony murder and related offenses. At Telfair, the state's risk-management settlement ledger records a $3,249,872.60 payout tied to the July 2023 death of Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano, who died after being held in an outdoor cage in extreme heat.

What happened on their watch

Telfair State Prison — Deputy Warden, 2021–2023. Sixteen deaths are attributed to this posting. Three are recorded by name: Walter Rakim Jordan died August 30, 2023, at Telfair State Prison, at age 53; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical. Bobby Murray died December 21, 2023, at Telfair State Prison, at age 51; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending. Kwesi Jamal Stultz died December 22, 2023, at Telfair State Prison, at age 24; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, from multiple injuries to the head. Other deaths during this tenure include Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano, 27, who died July 20, 2023, after officers placed him in a roughly 12-by-8.5-foot fenced outdoor cage with no shade while the heat index reached about 105°F; he was left roughly five hours and arrived at the hospital with a body temperature of 107°F. De'ahmoz Oshmic Floyd, 29, died April 18, 2023, of exsanguination from a stab wound to the neck; a claim filed against the state alleged he was stabbed by several prisoners when no staff were in the dorm. Xavier LaMar Warren, 32, died December 28, 2022, of a stab wound to the torso, with four other inmates listed as involved; Juan Carlos Arguelles-Reveles, 37, died May 7, 2021, from a stabbing with 11 other inmates involved. The state's settlement ledger also records smaller Telfair payouts in this period — $1,750 to Ryan Frank DeMon (2023), $2,600 to Derrell Ruth (2021), $5,361 to Darryl Thomas (2021) and $1,850 to David Morris (2021). Separately, Telfair sergeant Desiree Briley was sentenced to 18 months after pleading guilty to smuggling methamphetamine into the prison for an incarcerated man over at least two years, and in 2021 Sen. Josh McLaurin and other legislators were turned away from an unannounced prison tour.

Washington State Prison — Warden, 2024–present. Twenty-five deaths are attributed to this posting. In chronological order:

• Torrey Wayne Forrester died July 1, 2024, at Washington State Prison, at age 41; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Devonte Tiger Williams died August 9, 2024, at Washington State Prison, at age 26; the registry lists the cause as Homicide, from multiple sharp-force injuries.
• Dontavious Carter died January 7, 2025, at Washington State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• Robert Washington died January 14, 2025, at Washington State Prison; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Yoncey Jallah died April 23, 2025, at Washington State Prison, at age 49; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Lamontez Winkfield died May 11, 2025, at Washington State Prison, at age 22; the registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• Michael Lareco Daniel died June 20, 2025, at Washington State Prison, at age 44; the registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• William Earl Long died July 16, 2025, at Washington State Prison, at age 52; the registry lists the cause as Accident.
• Darrin Gresham died August 8, 2025, at Washington State Prison, at age 60; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Wayne Krier died November 5, 2025, at Washington State Prison, at age 77; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Benjamin Horne died December 15, 2025, at Washington State Prison, at age 51; the registry lists the cause as Overdose.
• Taylor Allen Howard died December 16, 2025, at Washington State Prison, at age 66; the registry lists the cause as Natural/Medical.
• Dajhmere Ladaveon Hall died January 9, 2026, at Washington State Prison, at age 30; the registry lists the cause as Overdose.
• Ahmod Dewayne Hatcher died January 11, 2026, at Washington State Prison, at age 23; the registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• Jimmy Lee Trammell died January 11, 2026, at Washington State Prison, at age 42; the registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• Teddy Dewayne Jackson died January 11, 2026, at Washington State Prison, at age 27; the registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• Silas Rodrigioeuz Westbrook died January 17, 2026, at Washington State Prison, at age 42; the registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• Frank Smith died May 6, 2026, at Washington State Prison, at age 75; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Deshawn Poole died June 9, 2026, at Washington State Prison, at age 34; the registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• Courtney Davis died June 13, 2026, at Washington State Prison, at age 43; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.
• Isreal Moses Jones died June 14, 2026, at Washington State Prison, at age 68; the registry lists the cause as Homicide.
• Joseph Earl Adams died August 30, 2026, at Washington State Prison, at age 58; the registry lists the cause as Unknown/Pending.

The January 11, 2026 disturbance began around 1:25 p.m., spilled from a sidewalk into a visitation area, and was brought under control around 3 p.m. after staff used non-lethal weapons, according to GDC accounts reported by the AJC and WGXA; three men were pronounced dead at the scene or shortly after, 13 incarcerated people and one correctional officer were injured, and a fourth man, Silas Westbrook, died January 17 after a medical emergency during transfer to Metro Reentry Facility. GDC called the incident gang-affiliated; twelve incarcerated people were later charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, gang participation and unlawful acts of violence in a penal institution. A GDC response to an open-records request showed six officers on duty when the gang war broke out, according to records cited by GPS. GDC's Office of Professional Standards is investigating the June 2026 deaths of Courtney Davis and Isreal Jones; the department said Davis showed no signs of an altercation or foul play and that Jones's cause of death was undetermined pending the GBI Crime Lab.

Allegations logged against this tenure, attributed to their sources: former inmates told 13WMAZ that gangs control daily life at Washington, that incarcerated people carry knives openly, and that understaffing and overcrowded dorms with no programming produced the conditions for the riot; one family member described a roughly 50-day lockdown after the early-2026 riots with commissary withheld from the general population; another reported mold, rusted bunks, inadequate medical care and last-minute visitation cancellations. A monitored communication alleged at least seven deaths following a January 2026 melee and described stabbings during a facility-wide lockdown, unequal commissary limits by group affiliation, and Security Threat Groups controlling housing buildings. State Rep. Billy Hitchens told 41NBC the system was not making meaningful progress on jammed or disabled cell-door locks. 41NBC and the AJC also reported the 2024 DOJ findings that Georgia prison officials were "deliberately indifferent" to deadly violence, drug use, extortion and sexual abuse, and a consultant study commissioned by Gov. Brian Kemp in June 2024 found broken locks, weapon-making materials and unmonitored movement. Stewart is also named in 2025 case records describing blue-water contamination at Washington, with incarcerated people reporting rashes and stomach issues. WGXA reported a federal drug-trafficking case against Luis Alfonso Ramirez, accused of running a network from the prison on contraband cellphones, and an earlier case in which Jeffery White was accused of directing a methamphetamine network from the facility.

Litigation

• Clayton v. Stewart, No. 3:25-cv-00009 (GASD), filed February 10, 2025 — pending; the only listed suit naming Stewart directly.
• Kemp v. Mcfarlen, No. 5:25-cv-00059 (GAMD), filed February 18, 2025 — terminated May 30, 2025.
• Bibiano v. Garrett, No. 3:25-cv-00013 (GASD), filed February 13, 2025 — pending.
• Jackson v. White, No. 3:22-cv-00114 (GASD), filed September 13, 2022 — terminated April 1, 2024.
• Arnold v. Kinsey, No. 3:22-cv-00069 (GASD), filed June 27, 2022 — terminated March 10, 2025.
• Ross v. White, No. 3:22-cv-00066 (GASD), filed June 22, 2022 — terminated October 12, 2022.
• Lonon v. White, No. 3:22-cv-00037 (GASD), filed May 2, 2022 — terminated November 21, 2022.

No outcome amounts are recorded for any of these cases.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on the January 2026 Washington State Prison deaths, the twelve murder charges, the DOJ's 2024 findings, and the roster of Georgia prison homicides.
• WGXA — GDC statements on the "gang-affiliated" disturbance, the fourth death, the Ramirez contraband-cellphone case, and the Trammell family's allegation.
• 13WMAZ — GDC gang-affiliation statements, former-inmate accounts of conditions, and the twelve charged inmates.
• 11Alive — GDC statements on the deadly brawl.
• WFXL — reporting on the twelve charged inmates, injuries and deaths.
• 41NBC — Rep. Billy Hitchens on cell-door locks, DOJ findings, and confirmation of the fourth death.
• CourtListener dockets — the seven listed civil cases.
• Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (open records) — Telfair State Prison liability payouts, including the Bibiano settlement.
• GDC Office of Professional Standards statements and GDC open-records responses — death investigations and staffing levels at Washington State Prison.
• U.S. Department of Justice 2024 findings on Georgia prisons; consultant study commissioned by Gov. Brian Kemp in June 2024.
• GPS case submissions and monitored-communication records — facility-level allegations from incarcerated people and family members, 2025–2026.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Nov 1, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.