Stewart, Veronica M

Tenure Summary

Veronica M. Stewart has held Georgia Department of Corrections posts since at least 2007, beginning as a correctional officer at Telfair State Prison and later serving as sergeant, lieutenant, and unit manager there, plus a 2018 unit-manager year at Calhoun State Prison. She became deputy warden at Telfair in 2021 and held that role through 2023, then moved to Washington State Prison as Warden 1 in January 2024 and has served as warden there since June 16, 2024.

GPS records attribute 40 deaths to Stewart’s facility-leader tenures: 16 at Telfair State Prison during her deputy-warden years and 24 at Washington State Prison during her warden tenure. One Telfair death, that of Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano, resulted in a reported $3.2 million wrongful-death settlement with the State of Georgia, according to 13WMAZ. Federal court dockets also list multiple suits associated with Stewart’s record, though no case outcome amounts are recorded in the GPS data.

What happened on their watch

Telfair State Prison — deputy warden, 2021–2023. GPS records attribute 16 deaths to this posting. Among the decedents in GPS’s sample are homicide victims Kwesi Jamal Stultz, Deahmoz Oshmic Floyd, Xavier Lamar Warren, and Juan Carlos Arguello-Revelles; death certificates obtained by GPS list causes including blunt-force head injuries, a stab wound to the neck, and stabbing. Two suicides by hanging are recorded for Dustin Bowling and Rafael Foragi DaSilva. Drug toxicity deaths include Jeremy Williams, William Allen Slaton, and Clifford Lawrence Bagley. William Hiram Lumpkin’s record is classified as medical neglect; GPS notes he complained of chest pain and medical staff refused to evaluate him. Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano, 27, died July 20, 2023, after being left in an outdoor recreation cage during extreme heat; the family’s lawsuit, as reported by 13WMAZ, alleged an officer said “if he dies, he dies,” and GPS notes GDC reported the death as natural causes. The AJC reported a claim that Floyd was stabbed when no prison staff were present in the dorm.

Calhoun State Prison — unit manager, 2018. GPS records do not attribute any facility-leader deaths to Stewart’s Calhoun posting.

Washington State Prison — warden, January 2024–present. GPS records attribute 24 deaths to this tenure. Documented decedents include Devonte Tiger Williams, whose cause was reported by the AJC as multiple sharp-force injuries, and Dontavious Carter, listed in a GDC-released January 2025 report as “homicide due to a puncture wound to the heart.” Michael Lareco Daniel’s death certificate lists homicide from sharp-force trauma to the head. Torrey Wayne Forrester died of complications of hepatic cirrhosis from chronic hepatitis C, per GBI autopsy records. GBI records also document Dajhmere Hall’s death as acute oxycodone toxicity and Benjamin Horne’s as methamphetamine toxicity, both ruled accidental. In several Washington deaths — including Darrin Gresham, Wayne Krier, and Taylor Allen Howard — GBI records show the medical examiner declined to perform an autopsy, leaving cause determinations resting on coroner findings or paper sign-outs.

The January 11, 2026 riot at Washington State Prison killed Ahmod Dewayne Hatcher, Jimmy Lee Trammell, and Teddy Dewayne Jackson; Silas Rodrigiouz Westbrook died January 17, 2026, of delayed complications of multiple sharp-force injuries, according to a Washington County death certificate. Twelve inmates were later charged, per WFXL, 13WMAZ, and the AJC; GDC described the disturbance as gang-affiliated, according to 11Alive. GPS also records three investigation-only John Doe deaths dated February 17, 2026, including one family/witness report of suicide by hanging and another alleging two men killed each other in segregation. Broader allegations tied to Washington State Prison include a WGXA report that inmate Luis Alfonso Ramirez ran a drug-trafficking network using contraband cellphones, and AJC/13WMAZ accounts alleging understaffing, broken locks, and poor supervision. Multiple outlets reported the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2024 findings that Georgia prison officials were “deliberately indifferent” to deadly violence, drug use, and sexual abuse.

Litigation

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

Sources

• GPS personnel and death records
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation; DOJ findings; Washington State Prison riot coverage
• 13WMAZ — Ramirez Bibiano settlement; former-inmate accounts; riot charges
• WGXA — contraband cellphone drug-trafficking allegation; Trammell family account
• 41NBC — DOJ deliberate-indifference findings; Washington State Prison death updates
• 11Alive — GDC gang-affiliation statement
• WFXL — 12 inmates charged in Washington State Prison disturbance
• GBI Division of Forensic Sciences records and open-records responses
• Washington County coroner death certificates cited in GPS records
• Georgia Department of Corrections mortality reports, including January 2025 and June 2026 releases
• CourtListener federal docket records for the suits above

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 16, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.