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Thurman, Terrion
Status: active
Profile written May 31, 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
Terrion Thurman’s career with the Georgia Department of Corrections began in 2012 as a correctional officer at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison (GDCP). Over the next dozen years, he cycled through roles including correctional officer at the Special Management Unit, business support analyst, and behavioral health counselor, returning to GDCP in 2020 as a behavioral health counselor. In September 2025, Thurman was appointed Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment at GDCP—the only leadership-tier position he has held. GPS records attribute eight deaths at the prison to his watch during this facility-deputy tenure. No lawsuits name Thurman directly as a defendant, though the facility he oversees was already the subject of federal civil rights litigation and a Department of Justice investigation that branded Georgia’s prisons inhumane.What happened on their watch
Thurman assumed the role of Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment on September 1, 2025. The first death GPS links to this posting occurred on November 19, 2025: Charles Ramen Coppeak, 26, whose death certificate lists cause category 6. A user report submitted to GPS states Coppeak had been in diagnostics longer than usual and that staff believed he suffered a seizure—one before bed that went unnoticed and another during sleep that proved fatal. In the weeks that followed, five more people died at GDCP: Tabaya Marshall Gray (52) on November 27; Juan Jose Rodriquez (53) on December 10; Trevone Lavelle Lovett (33) on January 10, 2026; Novice H. Langston (60) on January 12; and Christopher Lee (19) on January 31. All but Lee were recorded under cause category 6. Lee’s death was classified under cause category 2, and a user report submitted to GPS alleges that he was placed in a stripped cell in H-house over a weekend, possibly for suicide watch, and was found dead; staff accounts, according to two correctional officers and other employees who spoke to the source, describe the death as resulting from cold or exposure. Two additional deaths followed: James Thompson (76) on February 6 and Terry Junie Marshall (59) on March 2, both with cause category 6.Thurman’s tenure unfolded inside a facility that GPS records show was operating at 568% of its original design capacity—holding approximately 4,540 incarcerated people in a structure built for 800. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, consultants hired by the governor found that almost every part of GDCP had been vandalized and that infrastructure including the medical clinic, kitchen, and showers had not been expanded since the prison opened in 1968. By early 2025, a prisoner had been fatally stabbed at the facility while multiple inmates witnessed the attack and officers delayed responding for roughly 30 minutes, per incident reports. Although those events predate Thurman’s deputy warden appointment, the broader systemic failures—severe overcrowding, staff shortages, and security lapses—persisted throughout his oversight of care and treatment. In April 2026, a federal civil rights lawsuit (Allen v. Georgia Department of Corrections) was filed alleging that prisoner Ronald Allen suffered medical neglect at GDCP that resulted in the amputation of his left hand and permanent damage to his right; the suit names the GDC commissioner and other defendants, though not Thurman individually. The U.S. Department of Justice had already concluded that Georgia’s prisons were characterized by “horrific and inhumane” conditions, with people assaulted, stabbed, raped, and killed inside woefully understaffed facilities—a finding that overlapped with Thurman’s leadership tenure.
Litigation
No lawsuits identify Terrion Thurman as a defendant. The litigation reported at GDCP during his tenure, including the Allen v. Georgia Dept. of Corrections filing on March 5, 2026, names other GDC officials but not Thurman.Sources
- GPS records — personnel positions and salary data, death counts, deaths-by-facility, and user-reported death notes for Christopher Lee, Novice H. Langston, and Charles Coppeak
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on GDCP overcrowding (568% of design capacity), vandalism documented by consultants, security failures including contraband and a fatal stabbing, and the DOJ investigation into Georgia prisons
- U.S. Department of Justice — October 2024 report finding Georgia’s prisons inhumane and documenting GDC obstruction
- Court records — Allen v. Georgia Dept. of Corrections civil rights complaint filed March 5, 2026; contempt order against GDC in the Special Management Unit litigation (2024)
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2025-09-01 → present |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 3 | 2021-01-01 → present | |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR 2 | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2020-01-01 → 2020-12-31 |
| BUSI SUPPORT ANALYST 1 | 2018-01-01 → 2019-12-31 | |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL OFFICER 2 | SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL OFFICER 2 | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER(WL) | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | 2012-01-01 → 2012-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
8 people died at facilities under Thurman, Terrion's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-02 | TERRY JUNIE MARSHALL | 59 | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment |
| 2026-02-06 | JAMES THOMPSON | 76 | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment |
| 2026-01-31 | CHRISTOPHER LEE | 19 | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment |
| 2026-01-12 | NOVICE H LANGSTON | 60 | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment |
| 2026-01-10 | TREVONE LAVELLE LOVETT | 33 | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment |
| 2025-12-10 | JUAN JOSE RODRIQUEZ | 53 | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment |
| 2025-11-27 | TABAYA MARSHALL GRAY | 52 | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment |
| 2025-11-19 | CHARLES RAMEN COPPEAK | 26 | GEORGIA DIAGNOSTIC AND CLASSIFICATION STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment |
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