Warren, Willesha

Tenure Summary

Willesha Warren joined the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2015 as a behavioral health counselor, rising through clinical ranks before transitioning to facility administration. By 2022, Warren had been appointed Deputy Warden at Smith State Prison — a facility the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has described as one of the most understaffed, violent, and dysfunctional in the state system — a role GPS records show she has held continuously through at least 2025. During her Deputy Warden tenure at Smith State Prison, GPS records attribute 25 deaths at the facility, including at least 10 classified as homicides (cause category 3) per AJC investigation data and GPS records. Three pending or recently terminated federal lawsuits name Warren as a defendant.

What Happened on Their Watch

Smith State Prison — Deputy Warden (2022–present)

Warren assumed the Deputy Warden role at Smith State Prison in 2022, a facility already under intense scrutiny. GPS records attribute 25 deaths at Smith State Prison during her tenure spanning 2022 through early 2026. Of these, at least 10 are classified as homicides. Per the AJC's Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation, confirmed homicide causes include: stab wounds (Nathan Michael Mahan, October 2022; Quenton George Mayo, August 2023; Calvin Darrell Denson Jr., April 2023); blunt force trauma to the head and neck (James Adams Jr., November 2023; Shaquan Jahrel Boykins, May 2023; Justin Tyler Smith, July 2023); asphyxia by neck compression (Anthony Joseph Zino III, April 2023); and homicide by undetermined means (Randy Wynn, March 2023; Donquerius Lamonte Mahone, February 2024). Nicholas Shafer, 24, died February 2026; GPS records note he had been beaten with his hands and feet bound and an object stuffed in his mouth, and had recently transferred through multiple facilities before arriving at Smith. The remaining 15 deaths fall under cause category 6 (cause not specified in available records) and span ages 24 to 77.

Several deaths carry aggravating allegations documented by the AJC. Anthony Joseph Zino III's body was reportedly badly decomposed when discovered, suggesting, according to the AJC, a failure to monitor inmates. A separate AJC allegation states that Desmond Hill — whose death predates Warren's tenure but whose case is documented in facility intel — called his mother the day before his death to report a death threat from his cellmate, with no apparent intervention. The AJC further alleges that prison staff were repeatedly warned a gun was on the premises before inmate Jaydrekus Hart — whose death on June 16, 2024 is among the 25 attributed during Warren's tenure — used a firearm to kill 24-year-old Aramark food service worker Aureon Shavea Grace before dying himself. GPB reporting alleges the firearm was smuggled in by drone. A lawsuit filed by Grace's family in Fulton County State Court (July 2025) alleges staff failed to act on those warnings, that no guards were present in the kitchen area, and that Hart was allegedly permitted to violate rules with impunity. Governor Kemp ordered a system-wide assessment by Guidehouse Inc. following that shooting, per GPS records.

Systemic conditions at Smith State Prison during Warren's tenure are extensively documented. The AJC alleges approximately two-thirds of correctional officer positions were unfilled, leaving roughly 53 officers at a facility designed for 160. The Marshall Project reported that a single officer was assigned to an area housing 600 men, with no functioning fire extinguishers, when inmates set mattresses ablaze. The AJC further alleges that former Warden Brian Adams — Warren's predecessor or contemporary superior — was arrested in early 2023 and charged under Georgia's RICO Act, bribery, and related counts for allegedly accepting cash payments in a multimillion-dollar contraband scheme run by inmate Nathan Weekes. Seven facility shakedowns in 2023 yielded 1,509 weapons, 694 cell phones, and multiple kilos of drugs, per GPS records. A gang-related altercation on April 1, 2026 triggered a system-wide GDC lockdown, with two inmates airlifted to hospitals, per WTOC and GPS incident records.

Litigation

• Hamilton v. Beasley, No. 6:25-cv-00057 (S.D. Ga.), filed July 22, 2025 — pending; Warren named as defendant per court records.
• Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, No. 1:25-cv-03191 (N.D. Ga.), filed June 6, 2025 — terminated March 30, 2026; Warren named as defendant per court records.
• Daker v. Ward, No. 7:20-cv-00113 (M.D. Ga.), filed June 11, 2020 — terminated November 3, 2021; Warren named as defendant per court records. (Note: this case predates Warren's Deputy Warden appointment; her role at time of filing is listed as Behavioral Health Counselor Supervisor per GPS position records.)

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation; reporting on Smith State Prison shooting (June 2024), contraband scheme, warden arrest, staffing, and facility conditions
• Georgia Public Broadcasting — drone contraband reporting; GDC Senate committee testimony (August 2024)
• The Marshall Project — understaffing and overtime reporting; Smith State Prison conditions
• WTOC — April 2026 gang-related altercation and system-wide lockdown
• In These Times — Georgia prison strike reporting; allegations of cruel punishment, medical denial, and forced labor
• GPS records — death records, position history, incident reports, and case submissions for Smith State Prison
• CourtListener / federal court records — Hamilton v. Beasley (6:25-cv-00057); Daker v. Oliver (1:25-cv-03191); Daker v. Ward (7:20-cv-00113)

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