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West, Sandi R
Status: active
Profile written July 26, 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
Sandi R. West began her Georgia Department of Corrections career as a sergeant at Smith State Prison in 2003, rising to lieutenant and unit manager there by 2017. She moved to Montgomery State Prison as unit manager and deputy warden (2018–2019), then served as deputy warden at the Women’s Probation Detention Center in 2020. After three years as a correctional superintendent without a fixed facility, West was appointed to her first warden post at Rogers State Prison in January 2024. During that facility‑lead tenure, which continues, GPS records attribute six deaths to Rogers State Prison. West is named as a defendant in one federal lawsuit, Jackson v. Catanzariti, filed in 2012 and terminated in 2023 with no recorded payout.What happened on their watch
West held no facility‑lead or supervisory roles that resulted in attributed deaths before her posting to Rogers State Prison. No deaths are recorded during her tenures at Smith State Prison, Montgomery State Prison, the Women’s PDC, or her years as correctional superintendent.Rogers State Prison (Warden, 2024–present)
During West’s time as the facility’s top official, six incarcerated men died. The first, Shawn Remar Johnson, 34, died on July 23, 2024; the cause category in GPS records is unspecified. On September 28, 2024, Taylor Anthony Hunt, 29, was found dead. A GBI medical examiner’s autopsy report (finalized February 2025) ruled the death a suicide by hanging. GPS internal intelligence notes from the same month, however, carried multiple unverified entries asserting that the official ruling was contradicted by physical evidence and that the death occurred “under suspicious circumstances.” The records do not provide a source for those allegations.
On February 4, 2025, David Edward Wood died at a Vidalia hospital; the Tattnall County coroner certified the cause as coronary and hypertensive heart disease compounded by influenza and parainfluenza virus, listing the manner as natural. On June 26, 2025, Justin Waymon Hollingsworth, 43, was discovered hanging in a one‑man cell at Rogers. The coroner’s narrative and a GBI autopsy (performed at the Coastal Crime Lab) both confirm the death as suicide by hanging, with no external trauma. Randy Eugene Stewart, 60, died at Memorial University Medical Center on July 17, 2025, after two days of inpatient care; the coroner attributed death to E. coli peritonitis from a perforated duodenum, on a background of multiple chronic illnesses, and ruled the manner natural. The most recent death, John Meeks, 49, occurred on February 19, 2026, with a cause category that GPS records do not specify.
A GPS intel note also carried a claim of a “Guard Stabbing Incident” at Rogers State Prison, but no details, date, or source were provided. None of the deaths at Rogers State Prison have been linked to that allegation in the available data.
Litigation
- Jackson v. Catanzariti, No. 6:12-cv-00113 (S.D. Ga., filed Dec. 10, 2012, terminated June 28, 2023). West is listed as a defendant; the docket does not record a settlement or judgment amount.
Sources
- GPS records – career positions, death counts, and attributed deaths at Rogers State Prison
- Tattnall County Coroner records – death certificates and investigative narratives for Randy Eugene Stewart, Justin Waymon Hollingsworth, and David Edward Wood
- GBI Medical Examiner’s Office (Coastal Crime Lab) – autopsy report for Justin Waymon Hollingsworth; GBI report of medical examiner for Taylor Anthony Hunt (suicide ruling)
- GPS internal intelligence notes – allegations regarding Taylor Hunt’s death and an unspecified guard stabbing at Rogers State Prison
- CourtListener – docket for Jackson v. Catanzariti
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| WARDEN 1 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | 2024-01-01 → present |
| Warden | ROGERS STATE PRISON | 2024-06-16 → 2026-05-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL SUPERINTENDENT | 2021-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | WOMEN’S PROBATION DETENTION CENTER | 2020-01-01 → 2020-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | MONTGOMERY STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → 2019-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | MONTGOMERY STATE PRISON | 2018-01-01 → 2018-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL UNIT MANAGER | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 |
| CSM CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP) | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 | |
| Lieutenant | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2011-01-01 → 2011-12-31 |
| Sergeant | SMITH STATE PRISON | 2003-01-01 → 2003-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:12-cv-00113 | GASD | 2012-12-10 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
6 people died at facilities under West, Sandi R's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-19 | JOHN MEEKS | 49 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | WARDEN 1 |
| 2025-07-17 | RANDY EUGENE STEWART | 60 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | WARDEN 1 |
| 2025-06-26 | JUSTIN WAYMON HOLLINGSWORTH | 43 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | WARDEN 1 |
| 2025-02-04 | David Edward Wood | — | ROGERS STATE PRISON | WARDEN 1 |
| 2024-09-28 | TAYLOR ANTHONY HUNT | 29 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | Warden |
| 2024-07-23 | SHAWN REMAR JOHNSON | 34 | ROGERS STATE PRISON | Warden |
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