Wells, Katherine

Tenure Summary

Katherine Wells began her GDC career as a Mailroom Clerk at Hancock State Prison in 2008, progressing through accounting and financial operations roles before being elevated to Deputy Warden — a facility-deputy accountability tier — in 2018. GPS records show she held the Deputy Warden title continuously from 2018 through at least 2024, with facility assignments confirmed at Hancock State Prison (2018) and, most recently, Emanuel Probation Detention Center (2025), where she was promoted to Superintendent effective September 16, 2025. The `deaths_during_tenure` field in GPS records returns empty, meaning no deaths are directly attributed to Wells's leadership tenures in the structured data. However, GPS records and published reporting document serious violent incidents and deaths at two facilities — Hancock State Prison and Washington State Prison — during periods that overlap with her career at or near those sites.

What Happened on Their Watch

Hancock State Prison — Deputy Warden (2018; facility confirmed)

Wells held the Deputy Warden role at Hancock State Prison during 2018. GPS records show no deaths formally attributed to her tenure there in the structured dataset. However, intel reports tied to Hancock document a pattern of serious violence during the broader period of her GDC career. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, gang-related violence at Hancock resulted in two prisoner deaths, with the coroner leaning toward homicide in at least one case. The AJC further reported that as of October 2024, Hancock carried one of GDC's highest correctional officer vacancy rates — 73.5% of positions vacant, leaving approximately 49 officers for more than 1,100 prisoners. Consultants cited by the AJC found staffing vacancies at 20 of Georgia's 34 prisons had reached "emergency levels," with broken cell locks allowing prisoners to move freely.

GPS records document specific deaths at Hancock in early 2026: Steven Wood died January 25, 2026, following an altercation with another inmate; Jaylin Bell died February 6, 2026, following an altercation with his roommate; and Jacorey Pearson died April 8, 2026. All three deaths were referred to the GDC's Office of Professional Standards and the county coroner for GBI examination. GPS records also show that on January 12, 2026, five inmates at Hancock were stabbed — two airlifted to hospitals — in violence the AJC reported coincided with the Washington State Prison riot that same day. A GPS intel report (AI-detected via Telegram relay, undated) alleges Gangster Disciples inmates attacked Crips inmates while sleeping in H1 dormitory; a separate GPS report alleges a stabbing in the visitation area. A family report in GPS records alleges an unnamed inmate was held in solitary confinement for more than six weeks with no communication.

Separately, a lawsuit cited by the AJC alleges that Charles "Tristen" McKee was placed in a dorm with known gang members hostile to LGBTQ inmates, contributing to his death; the AJC further reports that staff failed to act on McKee's repeated requests to be moved the day before he was killed. Per the AJC, Cleveland Gary was convicted of killing McKee by striking him six times in the head with a 17-inch homemade machete. A claim filed against the state, per the AJC, alleges Francisco Zaldivar Melgar-Saldivar was not provided appropriate medical care after being attacked by another prisoner. The AJC also reports that prison officials placed Amanuel Selassie Geberyesus in a regular cell contrary to a counselor's advice after he expressed suicidal thoughts, and he subsequently died by suicide. The records do not specify the dates of these incidents relative to Wells's confirmed 2018 assignment at Hancock.

Deputy Warden — Unspecified Facility (2019–2024)

GPS records show Wells continued as Deputy Warden from 2019 through 2024, but no facility is identified for those years. No deaths are attributed to her in the structured data for this period.

Emanuel Probation Detention Center — Deputy Warden / Superintendent (2025–present)

Wells transferred to Emanuel PDC as Deputy Warden in 2025 and was promoted to Superintendent on September 16, 2025. GPS records show no deaths or lawsuits attributed to her tenure at this facility.

Systemic Context

Several intel reports reference findings that apply across Wells's career period. Per 41NBC and the AJC, a 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report found Georgia prison officials are "deliberately indifferent" to unchecked deadly violence, widespread drug use, extortion, and sexual abuse at state lockups, and that sophisticated gangs run prison black markets trafficking in drugs, weapons, and electronic devices. The AJC reported that short-staffing, safety problems, and corruption allowed prisoners to operate large criminal enterprises from their cells, with 28 major drug-trafficking cases filed between 2015 and 2024. State Rep. Billy Hitchens, per 41NBC, alleged the prison system is not making meaningful progress on preventing inmates from disabling cell-door locks. Former inmates Earl White and Brandon, speaking to 13WMAZ, allege overcrowded dorms, chronic understaffing, absent programming, mold, vermin, poor medical care, and gang dominance of daily life — conditions they describe as predictable precursors to riots.

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Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on Hancock State Prison gang-related deaths, staffing vacancies, McKee lawsuit, Geberyesus suicide allegation, Zaldivar medical care claim, Washington State Prison riot, DOJ findings, systemic drug trafficking
• 41NBC — reporting on Hancock inmate death (Jaylin Bell), Washington State Prison riot and charges, DOJ 2024 findings, Rep. Hitchens allegation on cell locks
• 13WMAZ — reporting on Washington State Prison riot charges, former inmate accounts (Earl White, Brandon) on conditions and violence
• WGXA — reporting on Washington State Prison disturbance, Jimmy Trammell family allegation, GDC gang-affiliation characterization
• 11Alive — reporting on Washington State Prison gang-affiliation allegation
• WFXL — reporting on 12 inmates charged in Washington State Prison disturbance
• GPS records — intel events documenting deaths of Steven Wood (Jan. 25, 2026), Jaylin Bell (Feb. 6, 2026), Jacorey Pearson (Apr. 8, 2026) at Hancock; January 12, 2026 stabbings at Hancock; Telegram-relayed incident reports; family reports re: solitary confinement and conditions at Washington State Prison

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.