Swinford, Jonathan D

Tenure Summary

Jonathan D. Swinford’s GDC record begins in 2015 as a corrections officer and moves through CSM Correctional Lieutenant posts from 2016 to 2018, Correctional Officer 2 roles from 2019 to 2021, and CSM Correctional Unit Manager in 2022 and 2023. On November 22, 2023, GPS records place him as Deputy Warden at Hays State Prison, with salary rows for 2024 and 2025 and a further Hays Deputy Warden entry dated August 27, 2026.

GPS records attribute 17 deaths to Swinford’s leadership tenure, all at Hays State Prison. Two federal lawsuits are listed in Swinford’s records as cases in which he appears as a defendant.

What happened on their watch

The earlier positions in Swinford’s record carry no facility names and no attributed deaths. The deaths counted in the authoritative figures begin with his Hays Deputy Warden posting.

Hays State Prison — Deputy Warden, from November 22, 2023

During this tenure, GPS records attribute 17 deaths to Hays State Prison. The documented decedents span 2024 through 2026. Among cases with detailed files, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Jeremy Edward Price, 36, died March 2, 2024, from stab wounds to the neck and chest, and that Freddie Lee Talley, 31, died May 6, 2024, from a stab wound to the chest. A GPS intel event states that seven weapons, measuring from 9 to 22 inches, were recovered after Talley’s death, and that three incarcerated people received disciplinary reports but had not been charged as of the report.

Chattooga County Coroner death-investigation files obtained by GPS record James Cannon, 48, as a strangulation homicide on October 25, 2025; the warden reported to the coroner that Cannon’s cellmate confessed to manually strangling him. Melvin Gay Johnson, 35, died January 27, 2026, from multiple sharp force injuries; the coroner recorded the manner as homicide and noted stab wounds to the upper back, neck, and left side of his head in an open dorm. Telegram messages reviewed by GPS also alleged Johnson had been beaten for days and that he had asked not to return to a dorm. Those Telegram reports are allegations from incarcerated sources, not established findings.

The files also document natural deaths: Corey Anwar Dubose, 47, died March 23, 2026, of acute myocardial infarction due to diabetes mellitus; Tommy Joe Strickland, 60, died June 4, 2025, of AIDS with fungal meningitis; and Raymont Savion Farley, 36, died June 15, 2025, of epilepsy. The coroner noted two packets of daily medications on the floor of Farley’s cell. Other deaths in the records — including Theron Morrell Hendrix, Timothy Darmofal, Keith Johnson, Mackendy Pierrette, Thomas Johnson, Joey Griffin, Ralph Carter, and Barcel Roylee Ward — are listed with cause category 6 or without narrative detail in the supplied extract. A Telegram relay message dated April 1, 2026, alleged that an incarcerated person identified as “KG” was killed during an inspection and that two additional victims had neck wounds; GPS labels this as an AI-detected Telegram relay report, not a confirmed record.

Broader facility allegations documented at Hays include an Atlanta Journal-Constitution report that a former Hays guard smuggled methamphetamine and other contraband into the prison for more than a month, and a family comment on Facebook alleging that people held in strip-cell infirmary status were barred from calls and visits, with a warden exception required. GPS states it has not established whether that restriction is written policy, local practice, or informal practice.

Litigation

• Mckenzie v. Oliver, No. 4:26-cv-00108, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, filed April 28, 2026; pending. Swinford is listed in GPS records as a defendant.
• Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, No. 1:25-cv-03191, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, filed June 6, 2025; terminated March 30, 2026. No outcome amount is listed in the provided records.

Sources

• GPS personnel and open-records data, including Chattooga County Coroner death-investigation files and GBI/DOFS findings
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation and related Hays State Prison coverage
• Coosa Valley News — reporting on James Cannon’s death
• CourtListener docket records — Mckenzie v. Oliver and Daker v. Oliver filings
• Public Facebook comments in a Georgia prison family group
• Telegram relay messages reviewed and AI-classified by GPS

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Sep 6, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.