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Thompson, Melissa
Status: active
Profile written June 14, 2026
This profile reflects positional accountability — this individual held the leadership roles shown during the dates shown, during which the listed deaths or lawsuits occurred. Inclusion does not constitute a legal finding of personal culpability for any specific incident.
Tenure Summary
Melissa Thompson has held correctional leadership roles in the Georgia Department of Corrections since at least 2015, advancing from a Correction Administration position through several years as a Correctional Assistant Superintendent, and ultimately serving as a Correctional Superintendent from 2019 onward. GPS records indicate that during her tenure as a facility leader, one death is attributed to a facility under her command. That death occurred while she was Superintendent of Whitworth Women’s Facility in early 2025. No lawsuits naming Thompson as a defendant have been identified in the records reviewed.What happened on their watch
The sole death attributed to Thompson’s facility-leader tenures happened at Whitworth Women’s Facility, where she served as Correctional Superintendent beginning January 2025. On January 10, 2025, Rhianna Woods died. According to the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s case file (25-0059), the death was ruled an accident caused by acute drug (benzodiazepine) intoxication. The medical examiner’s report notes that Woods reportedly swallowed “something” on the evening of January 8, subsequently experienced seizures, and then developed acute respiratory failure; admission bloodwork confirmed the presence of benzodiazepine. The manner of death was classified as an accident (overdose), and the record flags the death as drug-related.A facility discrepancy exists in the documentation: the medical examiner places Woods at the Metro Reentry Facility in DeKalb County at the time of her death, while GPS records associate the death with Whitworth Women’s Facility. Per an administrative note added in 2026, this may reflect a GDC practice of administratively transferring an inmate to Metro Reentry when they are near death or en route to an Atlanta-area hospital, even if the inmate never physically reaches that facility. The GPS database retains the facility-of-record as Whitworth pending any change.
During Thompson’s earlier facility-lead postings (2019–2024 at unspecified locations), no deaths were attributed to her watch per the records available to GPS.
Sources
- GPS records — personnel and death-attribution data for Melissa Thompson, including total deaths attributed (1) and facility breakdown.
- DeKalb County Medical Examiner case 25-0059 — cause and manner of death for Rhianna Woods, with administrative notes on the facility discrepancy.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT | WHITWORTH WOMEN’S FACILITY | 2025-01-01 → present |
| CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT | 2019-01-01 → 2024-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT | 2016-01-01 → 2018-12-31 | |
| CORRECTION ADMINISTRATION | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
1 people died at facilities under Thompson, Melissa's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-01-10 | Rhianna Woods | — | WHITWORTH WOMEN’S FACILITY | CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT |
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