Stewart, Veronica M

Tenure Summary

Veronica M. Stewart spent nearly two decades climbing the ranks at Telfair State Prison — from Correctional Officer (2007) through Sergeant, Lieutenant, Unit Manager, and Deputy Warden — before transferring to Calhoun State Prison as Unit Manager in 2018 and returning to Telfair. In January 2024 she was appointed Warden at Washington State Prison, where she remains as of 2025. GPS records show 27 distinct individuals died at facilities during Stewart's unit-supervisor and facility-deputy tenures at Telfair, and at least 20 additional deaths — including a mass-casualty riot — have been recorded at Washington State Prison during her warden tenure. Four civil lawsuits name her directly as a defendant, two of which remain pending.

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What Happened on Their Watch

Telfair State Prison — Unit Manager (2020)

During Stewart's year as Correctional Unit Manager at Telfair, GPS records show eleven deaths: four classified as homicides per AJC investigation records (Cedric Johnson, strangulation, March 2020; Aldrich Cain, multiple stab wounds, April 2020; Marcus Pearson, multiple stab wounds, May 2020; Louis Garcia-Palacio, blunt impact injuries to head, July 2020) and seven in other or unspecified cause categories. The AJC's Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation is the sourced record for each homicide finding. Separately, the AJC reported that Telfair was missing 76% of its essential correctional officer workforce, leaving approximately 32–36 officers to supervise roughly 1,400 prisoners — a staffing deficit that overlapped Stewart's time in a supervisory role there.

Telfair State Prison — Deputy Warden (2021–2023)

Stewart held the Deputy Warden title at Telfair from 2021 through 2023. GPS records show sixteen deaths during this period. Homicides documented by the AJC investigation include: Juan Carlos Arguello-Revelles, stabbing (May 2021); Xavier Warren, stab wound to torso (December 2022); Deahmoz Oshmic Floyd, exsanguination from stab wound to neck (April 2023); and Kwesi Jamal Stultz, multiple injuries to head (December 2023). A claim filed against the state, per the AJC, alleged Floyd was stabbed by several prisoners at a time when no prison staff were present in the dorm, and that Floyd had previously renounced gang affiliation, making him a target of prior attacks. One death stands apart in cause: on July 20, 2023, 27-year-old Juan Carlos Ramirez died after officers allegedly left him in an outdoor recreation cage for five hours during a 105-degree heat index; he arrived at the hospital with an internal body temperature of 107°F. GDC reported his death as "natural causes." A lawsuit arising from that death — Bibiano v. Garrett, No. 3:25-cv-00013 (GASD), filed February 13, 2025 — remains pending. A separate pending suit, Clayton v. Stewart, No. 3:25-cv-00009 (GASD, filed February 10, 2025), names Stewart directly. A third suit, Branner v. Stewart, No. 7:24-cv-00075 (GAMD, filed July 31, 2024), also names her and remains pending. The AJC further reported that Telfair had 79% of correctional officer positions unfilled as of a March audit period overlapping this tenure.

Washington State Prison — Warden (January 2024–present)

Stewart became Warden at Washington State Prison in January 2024. GPS records show at least twenty deaths at the facility during her warden tenure through early 2026, spanning homicide, natural/illness, and other cause categories.

The most significant incident occurred on January 11–12, 2026, when a gang-affiliated riot killed three incarcerated men — Teddy Dewayne Jackson, 27; Ahmod Dewayne Hatcher, 23; and Jimmy Lee Trammell, 42 — and injured thirteen additional inmates and one correctional officer, per GDC statements reported by the AJC, 11Alive, 13WMAZ, WGXA, and 41NBC. A fourth death followed on January 17, 2026, when Silas Rodrigioeuz Westbrook, 42, died after being stabbed during the riot and transferred to Metro Reentry Facility; per a GPS user report sourced to WMAZ, alleged lack of proper medical care contributed to his death. GDC characterized the disturbance as gang-affiliated; per 11Alive and 13WMAZ, twelve inmates were subsequently charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, gang participation, and unlawful acts of violence. As of April 28, 2026, the GDC investigation remained active per GPS records.

Earlier in her warden tenure, the AJC's Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation documented the death of Devonte Tiger Williams, 26 (August 2024), cause listed as multiple sharp force injuries to torso, head, and neck; and Jacob Cole Henson, 31 (April 2024), cause listed as multiple gunshot wounds — the AJC reported a GDC officer fatally shot Henson during a fight at a hospital while transporting him for medical treatment. GPS records also show the death of Dontavious Carter (January 2025, homicide by puncture wound to the heart) and Michael Lareco Daniel, 44 (June 2025, listed as homicide).

Contextual findings documented during Stewart's warden tenure include: a 2024 DOJ finding, per 41NBC, that Georgia prison officials are "deliberately indifferent" to unchecked deadly violence, widespread drug use, extortion, and sexual abuse; AJC reporting that buildings with maintenance issues enabled prisoners to strip materials to make weapons, locks did not work, and understaffing left movements unmonitored; and former inmates' allegations to 13WMAZ that overcrowded dorms, chronic staffing shortages, and absent supervision created conditions ripe for riots. A GPS family report filed May 2026 alleges legal mail addressed to a Washington SP prisoner was withheld for at least 14 calendar days beyond the SOP-permitted delivery window.

A separate February 2026 incident at Telfair — two unidentified men reportedly killed each other in segregation, and a third death recorded as suicide by hanging on the same date — is noted in GPS records but falls outside Stewart's warden posting at Washington SP.

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Litigation

• Branner v. Stewart, No. 7:24-cv-00075 (GAMD) — filed July 31, 2024; pending.
• Clayton v. Stewart, No. 3:25-cv-00009 (GASD) — filed February 10, 2025; pending.
• Bibiano v. Garrett, No. 3:25-cv-00013 (GASD) — filed February 13, 2025; pending. (Related to the July 2023 heat death of Juan Carlos Ramirez at Telfair SP, during Stewart's Deputy Warden tenure.)
• Kemp v. Mcfarlen, No. 5:25-cv-00059 (GAMD) — filed February 18, 2025; terminated May 30, 2025.
• 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.

(Willis v. Government Employees Insurance Company, Benvenutti v. Geico General Insurance Company, and In Re Paragard IUD Products Liability Litigation appear in the docket records but do not, on their face, concern GDC conditions or deaths; GPS records do not establish their connection to Stewart's correctional duties.)

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Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation (multiple homicide cause-of-death records at Telfair SP and Washington SP); reporting on January 2026 Washington SP riot; staffing vacancy reporting at Telfair SP; DOJ findings on Georgia prison conditions
• 13WMAZ — Washington SP riot coverage; former inmate accounts of conditions; inmate charges following riot
• 11Alive — Washington SP riot coverage; GDC gang-affiliation characterization
• WGXA — Washington SP riot coverage; Jimmy Trammell family statement
• 41NBC — DOJ 2024 findings on Georgia prison deliberate indifference; Washington SP riot coverage
• WMAZ (GPS user report GPS-DEATH-2026-C029F) — Death of Silas Westbrook following riot stabbing
• WFXL — Inmate charges following Washington SP riot
• Solitary Watch — Historical allegations of tactical officer misconduct and heat shutoff at Telfair SP
• GPS records / user reports — Deaths at Washington SP (GPS-DEATH-2026-91829, D4EC3, 8B60E, C029F, A54A1, D5E57, CDEDE, 99253); legal mail delay report (May 2026); William Lumpkin death report (GPS-DEATH-2025-72217)
• CourtListener / federal court records — Branner v. Stewart (7:24-cv-00075); Clayton v. Stewart (3:25-cv-00009); Bibiano v. Garrett (3:25-cv-00013); Kemp v. Mcfarlen (5:25-cv-00059); additional terminated cases

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.