Walker, Martella L

Tenure Summary

Martella L. Walker's career in the Georgia Department of Corrections spans more than two decades. Records compiled by Georgia Prisoners' Speak (GPS) show Walker began as a correctional officer at Wilcox State Prison in 2002, returned there as a corrections officer in 2015 ($28,973.04 for that year), and rose through the ranks at the same facility — correctional sergeant in 2016 and 2017 — before lieutenant roles recorded from 2018 through 2022 and a correctional captain's post in 2023, all with no facility listed in the salary records, plus a single dated captain entry at Wilcox on Nov. 22, 2023. Walker served as correctional unit manager from 2024 through Sept. 15, 2025.

On Sept. 16, 2025, Walker became Deputy Warden of Security at Ware State Prison, the leadership post they held through the entire period covered by the 15 deaths attributed to their tenure — all 15 of which occurred at Ware. No lawsuit names Walker as a defendant, and GPS records contain no news items naming them directly.

What happened on their watch

Ware State Prison — Deputy Warden of Security, Sept. 16, 2025 to present (a single dated "Deputy Warden" record at Ware appears Aug. 27, 2026). GPS attributes 15 deaths at Ware to this tenure, running from Oct. 13, 2025 to Sept. 13, 2026. The decedents recorded include Michael Cohen (68, Oct. 13, 2025), Marty Shawn Wright (49, Nov. 13, 2025), Christopher Allen Barrett (46, Dec. 1, 2025), Vernon Edward Kennedy (70, Dec. 12, 2025), Carlton Atkins Jones (55, Jan. 24, 2026), Christopher Henry (48, Feb. 12, 2026), Cody Humphrey (72, Feb. 21, 2026), Anthony Terrell Grover (25, May 11, 2026), Johnathan Cleo Hardman-Simmons (36) and Justin Dean Pulley (48), both on May 20, 2026, Kojack Junior Thomas (27, May 31, 2026), David Randolph Newcomer (85, June 30, 2026), Reberto Baez (69, July 9, 2026), David Miller Newman (60, July 15, 2026), and David Williams, whose age is not recorded (Sept. 13, 2026). Ages in the roster range from 25 to 85; the causes recorded for the youngest decedents fall in different categories from those recorded for the oldest.

Thomas's death is the subject of an active inquiry: a GPS-recorded event dated June 2, 2026 states that the GDC's Office of Professional Standards is leading an investigation into a potential homicide and that his body was sent to the GBI crime lab. Separately, GDC publicly described the Aug. 1, 2020 Ware incident as merely a "disturbance," while internal records describe hostage-taking, escape attempts, assaults and use of force, according to a Jan. 28, 2026 report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution — a report that surfaced while Walker held the Deputy Warden of Security role, though the 2020 incident predates their arrival at Ware.

Four GPS case submissions dated during Walker's tenure allege violence at the prison: gang-related violence on March 15, 2026 that sent at least one incarcerated person to an outside hospital; a stabbing that triggered a lockdown disrupting movement or releases (April 8, 2026); a further stabbing (April 20, 2026); and a stabbing with people transported to outside hospitals (April 27, 2026). Also dated to this period are a March 17, 2026 federal ruling on Georgia's parole process for juvenile lifers (naming Janice Buttrum) and reports from the Butts County Sheriff's Office of a July 2026 traffic stop and contraband seizure of items allegedly destined for Ware.

Sources

• Georgia Prisoners' Speak — case-submission allegations dated March–April 2026 concerning gang violence, stabbings and lockdown at Ware State Prison; GDC position and salary records
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Jan. 28, 2026 report contrasting GDC's "disturbance" description with internal records of the Aug. 1, 2020 Ware incident
• Georgia Department of Corrections Office of Professional Standards and GBI crime lab — investigation into the May 31, 2026 death of Kojack Junior Thomas
• Butts County Sheriff's Office — reported July 2026 traffic stop and contraband seizure bound for Ware State Prison
• Federal court records — March 17, 2026 ruling on Georgia's parole process for juvenile lifers (Buttrum)

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Sep 23, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.