Stewart, Veronica M

Tenure Summary

Veronica M. Stewart began her GDC career at Telfair State Prison as a correctional officer in 2007, returning there as a sergeant in 2012 and a lieutenant in 2014 and again 2016–2017. She was a correctional unit manager at Calhoun State Prison in 2018 and at Telfair in 2019–2020, then served as Telfair's Deputy Warden from 2021 through 2023. In 2024 she moved to Washington State Prison, where position records list her as WARDEN 1 from January 1 to June 15, 2024, and as Warden from June 16, 2024 to the present. The same records also carry a concurrent "Special Assistant to the Warden" entry at Telfair for the first half of 2024.

Across those leadership tenures, 40 deaths are attributed to her facilities — 24 at Washington State Prison and 16 at Telfair State Prison, per GPS records. Seven federal suits naming her or listing her among defendants appear in court dockets in the Southern and Middle Districts of Georgia. One Telfair death, that of Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano, is tied in the Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger to a $3,249,872.60 state liability payout.

What happened on their watch

Telfair State Prison — Deputy Warden (2021–2023). Sixteen deaths are attributed to Telfair during this tenure, spanning ages 24 to 74. Among them: Jeremy Williams, 29 (March 2021); Juan Carlos Arguelles-Reveles, 37, who died from a stabbing, with an incident report showing 11 other inmates involved; Xavier LaMar Warren, 32 (December 2022), stab wound to the torso, four other inmates involved; De'ahmoz Oshmic Floyd, 29 (April 2023), 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; and Kwesi Jamal Stultz, 24 (December 2023), multiple injuries to the head.

The most documented death was 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 reached the hospital with an internal body temperature of 107°F. The DOAS settlement ledger records the Bibiano payout against Telfair/2023, along with smaller Telfair payouts that year and earlier: Ryan Frank DeMon ($1,750, Feb. 2023), Derrell Ruth ($2,600, Oct. 2021), Darryl Thomas ($5,361, Sept. 2021) and David Morris ($1,850, Apr. 2021). Also on this watch, Sgt. Desiree Briley was sentenced to 18 months after pleading guilty to helping a prisoner smuggle methamphetamine into Telfair as part of the Ghost Face Gangsters network, and in 2021 Sen. Josh McLaurin and other legislators were turned away from an unannounced prison tour.

Washington State Prison — Warden (2024–present). Twenty-four deaths are attributed to Washington State during her tenure. Named decedents include Devonte Tiger Williams, 26 (Aug. 9, 2024, multiple sharp-force injuries to torso, head and neck); Torrey Wayne Forrester, 41 (July 1, 2024); Robert Washington (Jan. 14, 2025); Lamontez Winkfield, 22 (May 11, 2025); and, in 2026, Dajhmere Hall, 30 (Jan. 9), Frank Smith, 75 (May 6), Deshawn Poole, 34 (June 9) and Courtney Davis, 43 (June 13).

The defining event is the January 11–12, 2026 disturbance, described by GDC as gang-affiliated. Multiple fights broke out during visitation; Jimmy Trammell, 42, and Ahmod Hatcher, 23, were pronounced dead at the scene and Teddy Jackson, 27, died hours later at Wellstar MCG. Thirteen inmates and one correctional officer were injured. Silas Westbrook, 42, injured in the disturbance, died January 17 of a "medical emergency" during transfer to Metro Reentry Facility; GPS records also log a fifth, unnamed inmate dying at Jefferson County Hospital that day. Twelve inmates were charged in April 2026 with felony murder, aggravated assault, gang participation and unlawful acts of violence in a penal institution. GDC's response to a GPS open-records request showed six officers on duty on January 11. A family report described roughly 50 days of continuous lockdown with commissary withheld; another April 2026 family report alleged legal mail held about 10 working days past the SOP 227.06 window.

Other items recorded against the facility in her tenure: a 2024 DOJ finding, as reported by 41NBC and the AJC, that Georgia officials were "deliberately indifferent" to deadly violence, drug use, extortion and sexual abuse; a November 25, 2025 staffing collapse with housing units unstaffed for hours or whole shifts; a January 23, 2025 report of gang-run contraband networks and drone drops; blue-water contamination complaints in 2025 that name Stewart directly; contraband-phone video documenting Dontavis Carter's 2025 murder; Jamie Shahan's repeated beatings and life-support hospitalization (Jan.–Feb. 2025); the federal indictment of Luis Alfonso Ramirez for running a drug network from the prison via contraband cellphones (May 27, 2026); and, per the AJC's prison-homicide list, the January 2025 fatal shooting of Jacob Cole Henson by a GDC officer during transport. Former inmates told 13WMAZ in May 2026 that gangs, stabbings, overcrowding and staff shortages made the riot predictable.

Litigation

• Clayton v. Stewart, 3:25-cv-00009 (S.D. Ga.), filed Feb. 10, 2025 — pending.
• Bibiano v. Garrett, 3:25-cv-00013 (S.D. Ga.), filed Feb. 13, 2025 — pending.
• Kemp v. McFarlen, 5:25-cv-00059 (M.D. Ga.), filed Feb. 18, 2025 — terminated May 30, 2025.
• Jackson v. White, 3:22-cv-00114 (S.D. Ga.), filed Sept. 13, 2022 — terminated April 1, 2024.
• Arnold v. Kinsey, 3:22-cv-00069 (S.D. Ga.), filed June 27, 2022 — terminated March 10, 2025.
• Ross v. White, 3:22-cv-00066 (S.D. Ga.), filed June 22, 2022 — terminated Oct. 12, 2022.
• Lonon v. White, 3:22-cv-00037 (S.D. Ga.), filed May 2, 2022 — terminated Nov. 21, 2022.

No outcome amounts are recorded for any of the seven.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — January 2026 coverage of the Washington State Prison disturbance; 2024 DOJ findings; prison-homicide list including Jacob Cole Henson.
• 13WMAZ, 11Alive, WFXL, 41NBC, WGXA — gang-affiliated disturbance reporting, the 12 inmates charged, and former-inmate conditions allegations.
• CourtListener federal dockets, S.D. Ga. and M.D. Ga. — case names, filing dates and dispositions.
• Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (open records) — Telfair payout amounts, including the Bibiano settlement.
• Governor Kemp-commissioned consultant study (2024) as reported by the AJC and 41NBC — maintenance, lock and understaffing findings.
• GPS records — facility death totals, intel reports and events dated within Stewart's leadership tenures.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Sep 23, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.