Warren, Willesha

Tenure Summary

Willesha Warren's Georgia Department of Corrections career began in behavioral health, not custody. Records show consecutive annual appointments as a Behavioral Health Counselor (2015), Behavioral Health Counselor 2 (2016–2017), Behavioral Health Counselor 3 (2018–2020), and Behavioral Health Counselor Supervisor (2021), with no facility assigned in those rows. In 2022 she moved into uniformed leadership as Deputy Warden at Smith State Prison (facility ID 8), and GPS records show her holding that title there through the most recent entry (2026).

GPS records attribute 26 deaths to her facility-leadership tenure, all 26 at Smith State Prison. The decedents in GPS's sample range in age from 24 to 77. Documented causes in that sample include homicides recorded by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's prison-homicide investigation, suicides by hanging confirmed by GBI Division of Forensic Sciences autopsies, natural deaths, accidental intoxications, one death GPS classifies as medical neglect, and a substantial block for which no cause is documented in the record. No intel report in the input names Warren; the Smith State Prison corruption allegations in the file center on former Warden Brian Adams, former officer Ireon Moore, and inmate Nathan Weekes.

What happened on their watch

Smith State Prison — Deputy Warden (2022–2026)

2022–2023. The earliest deaths in the sample are Jerome Tisdol (67, May 2022) — for whom the county coroner requested an autopsy and GBI declined, writing that "an examination by this office is not necessary," leaving the cause permanently unknown per GPS — and Michael Lewis Turner (38, May 2022), whose GBI autopsy attributed death to methamphetamine and synthetic cannabinoid toxicity complicating coronary atherosclerosis, manner accident. Three hangings followed: Manuel Villagomez (24, Sept. 2022), Juan Miguel Orduña (39, Oct. 2022), and Boris Mejia (29, March 2023), all ruled suicide by GBI and grouped by GPS as part of a Smith/Rogers hanging cluster. AJC homicide reporting covers Nathan Mahan (37, stab wounds, Oct. 2022), Randy Wynn (54, March 2023), Calvin Denson (31, stab wound to chest, April 2023), Shaquan Boykins (31, blunt impact to head, May 2023), Justin Smith (37, epidural hematoma, July 2023), Quenton Mayo (30, stab wounds to the neck, Aug. 2023), and James Adams (72, blunt force trauma to head and neck, Nov. 2023). Anthony Zino (71, April 2023) died of asphyxia from neck compression; the AJC reported his body was badly decomposed and he had likely been dead for days. Lawrence Woods (34, Oct. 2023) died of acute peritonitis from a probable perforated gastric ulcer; GBI ruled the manner accident, while GPS's own determination is medical neglect. Walter Wright (64, Sept. 2023) died of cardiac dysrhythmia, manner natural, per GBI.

2024–2026. Donquerius Mahone (37, Feb. 2024) is listed as a homicide in the AJC investigation. On June 16, 2024, inmate Jaydrekus Hart (34) appears in GPS's death records on the same date that, per multiple news accounts, inmate Jaydrekus Hart shot and killed Aramark food-service worker Aureon Shavea Grace in the prison kitchen before killing himself — an incident that triggered a system-wide GDC lockdown and, per the AJC, a state assessment ordered by Gov. Kemp. GPS records also log the June 2024 death of correctional officer Robert Clark (42), killed with a homemade weapon. Richard Williams (43, Sept. 2024) died of toxic effects of MDMB-4en-PINACA, manner accident, per the GBI autopsy (GPS notes an internal filing error initially attached the wrong decedent's file to this record). Orlando Jordan (36, Sept. 2024) and Calvin Craft (34, Dec. 2024) carry no documented cause in the record and no cause category. John Jacobs (77) died Oct. 25, 2025 of cardiorespiratory arrest due to sepsis, manner natural, per the Tattnall County coroner record; Deputy Coroner Daniel Bennett documented a coroner-process anomaly and stated on the record that any in-custody death warrants independent third-party review. In 2026: Nicholas Shafer (24, Feb. 8) — GDC data notes he had been beaten with his hands and feet tied and an object in his mouth, and had recently transferred from ASMP to Baldwin to Smith; Dwayne Albritton (65, March 12); and Dreeonnie Lee Hart (25, May 14). An altercation at Smith on April 1, 2026 triggered a system-wide lockdown of all GDC facilities.

Contextual reporting tied to the facility during this period: the AJC described Smith as roughly two-thirds understaffed (53 officers against a 160-position design), and the Marshall Project (Jan. 2024) reported Georgia staff so stretched a decomposing body went undiscovered for five days. The DOJ has been scrutinizing Georgia prisons since September 2021. A Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger entry records a $450,000 state liability payout tied to Smith State Prison for a 2023 incident (Julia Roberts). None of these items names Warren.

Litigation

• Hamilton v. Beasley, No. 6:25-cv-00057 (S.D. Ga.), filed July 22, 2025 — status pending; court records list Warren among defendants.
• Daker v. Oliver (Filing Restriction Per 59 Order), No. 1:25-cv-03191 (N.D. Ga.), filed June 6, 2025, terminated March 30, 2026.
• Daker v. Ward, No. 7:20-cv-00113 (M.D. Ga.), filed June 11, 2020, terminated Nov. 3, 2021.

No disposition amount is recorded for any of the three.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia prison homicides investigation and Smith State Prison coverage (Weekes contraband scheme, Kicklighter murder, Adams RICO allegations, staffing levels)
• GBI Division of Forensic Sciences autopsy and consultation records obtained by GPS open-records requests (Villagomez, Orduña, Mejia, Turner, Tisdol, Woods, Wright, Williams)
• Tattnall County coroner records, "Tattnall Wave 1" (Jacobs, case 2025-084)
• Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger via open records ($450,000 Smith SP payout, 2023)
• The Georgia Virtue — Tattnall County grand jury coverage of former warden's indictment
• WTOC — Smith State Prison altercation/lockdown, former employee arrest
• Georgia Public Broadcasting — drone-smuggled firearm testimony before Senate committee
• The Marshall Project — correctional officer shortage and overtime reporting
• In These Times — 2022 Georgia prison strike allegations
• CourtListener dockets — Hamilton v. Beasley; Daker v. Oliver; Daker v. Ward

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Sep 13, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.